Wicked Temptation
by outXhereXconfused
Summary: /AU/: Athrun and Cagalli have a powerful attraction towards each other, only problem? He's a teacher and she's a high school student. Oh and did I mention that other girl that's also crushing on him? Blackmailing, lies, secrets, high school drama...oh my
1. Preface

**Wicked Temptation**

**"**

**Chapter 1: Preface**

**"**

_"Cagalli, after class."_

_I looked up and rolled my eyes. "Whatever," I muttered. Damn Miriallia for talking to me. But I suppose it was also my fault, but I'm too stubborn to admit it; cause that's just me, stubborn and hard-headed Cagalli Hibiki._

_"Oooo, looks like someone got in trouble by the hot new English teacher," Miriallia hissed._

_I turned to look at her. "Suck it Miriallia!"_

_"And you're still talking Cagalli?"_

_I looked up to see Mr. Zala quirk an eyebrow at me. I blushed and sank into my chair even more. I was _so _mortified._

_"Sorry Mr. Zala, I'll shut up now."_

_I heard the class snicker. Damn them all to hell._

_As soon as the bell rung I sighed. I wouldn't be like the rest of my classmates, running out to their freedom. _

_"Well, call me or text me when you get out hon. Bye!"_

_"Fucking Miriallia," I muttered as she shot me her smug grin. This is _so _not fair! Why must I get detained when I wasn't the one who was talking most of the time? Why not her!_

_I turned my attention back to my scratched up desk, glaring at it even though it was innocent._

_Mr. Zala cleared his throat as he walked toward the door and closed it. _

_He turned to look at me and walked to my desk. Holy hell, my heart was thudding so loudly I was sure he could hear it. My stomach was releasing a mad amount of butterflies and my legs wouldn't stop trembling. _

_He sighed as he stood in front of me. "Cagalli, we need to talk."_

_Oh shit._

_"Uhm, a-about what?"_

_His green eyes held a battle within, as if he was tiredly trying to suppress a strong emotion that was trying to control him. He blinked and walked away from my desk. He was shaking his head, as if telling himself no to something, but _what?

_I slowly stood up and followed him to the front of the class. "Mr. Zala? Is everything alright? Is it my grades? Or is it something more serious?"_

_"No, no, it's…" he turned his head to look back at me," It's just that…"_

_I nodded my head, trying to encourage him to continue._

_He turned his whole body to fully look at me. "Cagalli, this…What…" he exhaled. "This is beyond reason, forbidden," he muttered._

_I blinked. "Forbidden? What's forbidden?"_

_He looked at me, but his eyes, his eyes startled me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him._

_I blinked as his lips crushed against mine. I stood there, my mind trying to compute everything, trying to make sense of everything; the way his lips felt against mine, the way he was holding my body ever so closely to his, and the way I fiercely kissed him back. _

_So _this _is what he meant by 'forbidden'; a teacher and student affair. Temptation is _such _a bitch. _

* * *

**Oh goodness me, a new story. **

**What it'll be about: a student-teacher love affair between our two most lovable couples; Athrun and Cagalli. **

**And yeah, I'm going to write it in first person (first time writing in first person on this account). And since there is a lot of lust between them and some strong chemistry, there will be a couple of lemons…But not too raunchy. **

**And I don't own Gundam Seed or any of the characters…(obviously). And this story has undergone editing. **


	2. Flashing the Handsome Stranger

**Wicked Temptation **

"

**Chapter 2: Flashing the Handsome Stranger**

**"**

"Everything Zen, everything ze—"

"Cagalli!"

I stumbled forward, losing my concentration on trying to keep my anger in check. I turned to glare at the stupid person who slapped me on my back.

I should've known.

"Miriallia, you violent broad!" I growled.

She gave me her cheeky, devious grin. "Nice to see you too Cags."

I huffed as I straightened out my uniform vest and dusted my black skirt. I also rubbed my back a little because when she hits and/or slaps you, it's like a brick was thrown at you.

You see, Miriallia and I are like close friends ever since the fifth grade. I know everything about her and she knows everything about me. It's like we're sisters (except she has shoulder-length brunette hair and I have shoulder-length blonde hair. And I have golden-brownish eyes and she has brown eyes. And I guess she's more of an academic student, while me…Well let's just say I'm fairly decent.)

"Aww, come on Cags, don't be such a party-pooper! I was just kidding!"

"Yeah, at the expense of me falling to the ground and quite possibly exposing my underwear to all these perverts because of this damn skirt," I muttered.

At the school that I presently attend (it's my last year here thank fucking god!) we _have_ to wear a uniform (and it's because the school I attend is a _private school_.). Said uniform consists of black pants (for girls it's skirts), a white shirt, and a dark-green vest (which for guys, it also is mandatory for them to wear either a black tie). Also, the girls have to wear white knee-length black socks and shoes.

Miriallia fell into place with me. We were both walking to our first period class, Foods! (I absolutely _love, love, love_ that class).

"Well, I do suppose that that would happen…" she mused,"But on the bright side, wouldn't it be funny?!"

I scoffed. "Yeah, only to you I'm afraid."

She laughed. "So, what was all that 'Zen' crap you were repeating to yourself?"

I sighed. "I'll give you one guess: the bitch has red hair."

Miriallia blinked as realization dawned on her. "_Oh_. I see."

"I gotta say, it took _all_ my self-control to not punch her." Because I so happen to be on probation because I've gotten into like two or three fights throughout my entire four years here.

"What'd the vile two-faced brat do this time?"

"What do you think? She was blabbing her mouth again saying that I was 'jealous' of her because she had sex with Yuna and he left me for her. And you know what? I honestly don't give a shit because I _never_ was with him and I _never slept with him_. But what _does_ bother me is that she thinks she's all high and mighty and thinks she knows everything."

"And the fact that she still keeps spreading rumors about you right?" Miriallia pointed out.

"Yes!" I walked to my locker and opened it.

"It's like, dude, get over it! So I made out with your boyfriend at a party _once_, and not to mention that I was _drunk_ which, when combined, doesn't make a person too coherent of one's actions," I grabbed my needed materials for my three classes for today.

"Yeah, she's blowing this way out of proportion," Miriallia agreed as she grabbed her books out of her locker (which was right beside mine).

I sighed as I leaned on my locker. "Whatever, we only have this year left and I won't ever have to see her face again."

I looked out into the quad and wah-lah! Speak of the devil herself.

"Why, if it isn't little miss sluterella in the flesh!"

I rolled my eyes at her failed joke. "If it isn't Mrs. Oinkster! What's the matter? Yuna not willing to roll around in your bloody play-pen?"

Meyrin's light bluish-purplish eyes narrowed in anger. "Shut the hell up Athha! You're just jealous because he left _you_ for _me_!"

I glanced at Miriallia who was stifling a laugh. I chuckled. "Oh my god, that's it, I'm _so_ jealous!"

I knew that she heard the heavy sarcasm in my voice because she ended up growling and clenching her hands into fists. "Hmph!" she walked away with her little posse.

I turned back to Miriallia and we burst out laughing.

"Oh my god! That was too funny!" she laughed.

"I know huh?" I was laughing so hard that I didn't see where I was walking and thus…

"Cagalli!"

I opened an eye slowly. My ass hurt. "Owww," I groaned as I opened my eyes fully and looked up. Oh. My. God.

"Are you alright?"

I blinked dumbly. I had bumped into a _hot_ guy. His eyes were a rich dark green and his hair was an astonishing navy-blue. His complexion was pale, which empahsized those green, green eyes that I couldn't seem to look away from.

"Can you hear me?" he repeated.

What? Was he talking to me?

"Uhm, yeah, yeah, I'm alright," I assured him.

"Umm, Cags…You might want to check your outfit…" Miriallia suggested slowly.

I dropped my gaze and almost had a heart attack of embarrassment. Oh fantastic! My skirt's hem had hitched up to my lap revealing my underwear!

I gasped as I scrambled to pull it back down and got up. Oh geez, my luck just about sucked right now. I glanced up at the guy who I had bumped into and blushed.

"Aah, I'm sorry I bumped into you."

He cleared his throat as if trying to hold in the laughter. "No, no. It's okay. I should've been paying more attention anyways," he paused. "You ladies wouldn't happen to know where room B-14 would be would you?"

"Oh, it's in the B-building. This is the A-building. The B-building is across the quad," Miriallia answered him.

"Thank you," he glanced at me," And I apologize yet again."

I meekly nodded, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

After he had left Miriallia jumped in front of me. Oh here it goes…

"Oh my god Cags! You totally flashed him!"

My cheeks were burning. "Shut up!" I growled.

"You flashed him and he _liked_ it!"

I looked up at her from my squatted position. "He _what?_"—I straightened back up with my books and binders nestled in my arm.

She nodded; a grin forming on her lips. "He was _leering_ at you!" she squealed. "He totally likes you!"

I exhaled as I started to walk to room A-7. "You're being ridiculous," I muttered.

Miriallia caught up to me. "Am not! I know when a guys likes you or not!"—she walked in front of me and pointed to her eyes—"It's all in _the look_."

I laughed. "The look huh? Funny! Because the only look I saw was the look of bewilderment and embarrassment."

Miriallia sighed. "Oh Cagalli, you have so much to learn about people's expressions."

I rolled my eyes as we walked toward Foods class; the bell had already rung. But I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe, just _maybe_, she was somehow logically correct.

* * *

**And this is the first chapter! Kind of seems short but you know…the beginnings are always either short or stale. **

**AND….I was asked a question about why Athrun is the teacher and not Cagalli. Well, it just seemed to click you know? And I also had a suggestion about making Cagalli the teacher and Athrun the student…Well…I think I could make one. So who knows? Maybe that'll be my next story. Hehehe. **

**And once again, this story has undergone editing. Meaning? That I changed and deleted certain stuff. **


	3. And We Meet Again

**Wicked Temptation**

**"**

**Chapter 2:**** And We Meet Again**

**"**

**Note: It was brought to my attention that I made a typo…Oops. (Blushes). Lol. Well let me fix my mistake; Miriallia's eyes are blue. Sorry. And yes there are more teachers and students which I have arranged in order and what their ties are and such. They'll pop out as the story progresses. Well on to the chapter.**

**"**

After my, unintentional flashing incident, we arrived a minute before the bell rang to class. I liked Foods class because well, who doesn't? We get to make food, eat the food, watch cooking movies…Enough said.

But the downfall of this class was that Meer (one of Meyrin's posse) was in my class. And not just her mind you, but it seemed like a person from her posse was in every class of mine. (So you can probably imagine how fun that is on a daily basis.) Her posse consists of; Meer Clyne, Flay Alester, and sometimes her sister Lunamaria (but it's rare). And each of them had some sort of ridiculous grudge against me!

Like Meer, she's just mad at me ever since I won a singing contest in middle school. That was like almost _five years_ ago! You'd think she'd get over it but no. What a prima donna.

Then Flay; Flay, Flay, Flay. I don't even know why she's mad at me when _I _wasn't the one who hurt her. Nope, not me; it was my older brother Kira who hurt her. _He _was the one who dumped her and later hooked up with Meer's sister; Lacus Clyne. And that was last year! I mean for Christ's sakes! He was a _senior_ and she was a _freshmen_. Obviously it wasn't going to work out. But does she listen? No. So she takes it out on me; his younger sister.

And Lunamaria…Well…She doesn't hate me, hate me…She just envies me because I'm friends with Shinn. She likes him that's why. Which I think is utterly ridiculous because she just won't work up the guts to ask him out. I mean, it's not like Shinn and I are dating or anything (even though we kind of made-out one time…But that's ancient history).

And then comes Meyrin; ah Meyrin Hawke. She detests me to the last fiber of my being. And I guess you can say that the feeling's mutual. She hates me because I made out with her boyfriend freshmen year at a party some guy was throwing. I had been drinking that night and I was _drunk_. That itself should be pretty self-explanatory. And the guy doesn't even go here anymore! So what gives?

And then the whole thing with Yuna Serian, oh god; Meyrin slept with him but it was all in vain. And the reason for why it was in vain was because she thought that Yuna and I were going out when in reality, we really weren't. And all because she thought she would hurt me, what a pathetic sap.

Miriallia and I walked to our table and sat down. I glanced around and saw that Auel and Shinn were already there; laughing away to some joke apparently.

"Hey you guys, what'd we miss?" Miriallia asked as she pulled a chair back and sat down.

Shinn and Auel looked at us.

"Dude you should've seen it! Meer freaked out because a fly wouldn't leave her alone!" Auel laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "You guys are immature."

"What's biting you Cagalli?"

I looked at Shinn. "It's Meyrin; she's getting on my last nerves."

He sighed. "Dude, if she bothers you that much, why not kick her ass?"

I grinned. "You don't think I want to? I'm on probation, remember?"

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh yeah, that's right, you are. It was because you got into a cat fight with Flay huh?"

I grimaced. "It wasn't a cat fight on my part, remember?"

And it really wasn't. I actually kicked her ass and her black eye and swollen cheek proved that the next day. But unfortunately for me, Vice Principal Talia had warned me before that if I had gotten into another fight, then I would have to be set on probation for a couple of months.

And the whole reason for the fight was for the same reason I had mentioned before; jealousy and vengeance because of Kira. Honestly! He doesn't even go here and _I_ have to get stuck with all the crap he left behind. But I have a hunch that it's something more than just that.

"Oh, that's true. How could I forget how shitty she looked the day after the fight?" he shook his head as he chuckled. "You really did a number on that psychotic broad."

"Yeah, but hey…It's November. We only have eight more months left…And then I'm so outta here." I sighed.

"Yeah, tell me about it! Man when I get out, I'm going to clubs and party like there was no tomorrow!" Auel gushed.

Miriallia rolled her blue eyes in exasperation. "You and your parties Auel," she scooted more to the table and leaned her head forward. "Speaking of which, are you still going to throw that party this weekend?"

"Hell yes I am! After my parents leave, it's kegs and beer time! And quite possibly table dancing," he grinned.

I gave a small smile. "I bet you'll be voted for 'most memorable parties' once senior voting comes around."

Miriallia gasped. "Oh that's right! Senior voting! Oh I hope I get voted most likely to succeed!"

Shinn, Auel, and I rolled our eyes. "Obviously," we all said in synch.

"What? I was just saying," she muttered.

I laughed at her. "You know we still love you."

You see, Auel, Shinn, Miriallia and I have been friends since middle school (well Miriallia and I met in the fifth grade and _then_ we met Auel and Shinn in middle school). It all started when we had the same core teacher.

Auel was shorter back then (and still is somewhat) and he was always the laugh of the class, in a bad way mind you. He was always picked on. But then one day, I was walking and some kids were picking on him; throwing food at him and calling him names. Now I've always hated bullies, so I did what I could; I kicked their asses. The school found out and they were the laugh of the school for the next couple of months. And after that, well, you know how it goes. We became friends and I introduced him to Miriallia.

And Shinn, well, we met Shinn in the seventh grade. Miriallia and I were walking home from school one day when a bunch of drunken perverts started to whistle at us and say sex-oriented stuff (and the skirts we had to wear weren't helpful either). Between the two of us, we could've taken them down if it was one. But that wasn't the case…There were three. So then they started to close in on us near an ally (how cliché right?) and that's when he came in.

He was a badass back in the days (he still is but not as much) and he had a mini gang with him. So he beat the guys up and saved us. And ever since then, we became friends. At first he didn't like Auel though because he thought he was too perky and hyper (and he also thought he was gay! Hahahaha!).

And that's basically how Miriallia and I met them, and we've been close friends ever since.

"Alright class, settle down now!" Ms. Murrue yelled.

The class quieted down as she stood in front of the class.

"Today, we'll be making Pumpkin Pie. Now you'll need the whole period to make it so I suggest you stay quite and pay attention!"

Ms. Murrue was pretty (and no I'm not a lesbian). She had mid-waist wavy brown hair and had the most vivid auburn eyes. She also wore lip-gloss which didn't at all make her look weird. But I think she's currently dating Mr. Mwu La Flagga; the Physical Education teacher. I've caught them a couple of times flirting with each other and casting affectionate glances at each other (but that was when I had p.e. sopohmore year).

"Alright, the roll's been taken…Now get to work!"

"Man, that pumpkin pie was kind of god I suppose," Miriallia said as she looked up at the sky.

"Kind of good? We forgot to add the _sugar_. It was _horrible_!" I shuddered as I remembered the nasty taste in my mouth.

It was lunch and we were heading to our hang out spot. We crossed the quad and sat down on the many steps that were there.

"Aww man, I don't think I want to eat anything right now," I moaned as I laid on my back and put my arm over my eyes.

"And whose fault was it that we forgot the sugar?"

I took my arm away from my arm and sat up; Auel and Shinn were standing in front of us.

"Uh, it was _Auel's_ fault, duh!"

Auel pouted. "My fault?"

"Yes your fault you dumbass!" Shinn sat down beside Mirialla. "_You_ were the one in charge of making the pumpkin filling."

Auel plopped down beside me. "Ch! Well I'm sorry if I was busy—"

Miriallia cut him off. "You were busy? Oh yeah, busy flirting with that girl from table five!" she accused.

We laughed at him as we ate our lunches (well _they_ did because I wasn't really hungry after eating that vile pie).

The bell eventually rang and they threw away their lunches.

"So are you guys still up for a movie today?" Shinn asked as we walked to the B-building area.

"Uhm, yeah, I'm still in," I said.

"Same here," Miriallia said as she threw away her empty can of soda.

"Ditto," Auel replied.

"Alright then, I'll see you guys at the movies around seven?"

We nodded as he walked away towards the C-building. We walked into the B-building area and Auel walked toward B-2.

"Catch ya gals later!" he said as he raised an arm.

Miriallia and I waved our hands in response.

"See ya!"

We walked, idly chatting away, until we came to B-14; our English class. I opened the door and almost stopped dead in my tracks. Holy effigin hell.

The guy looked up; amazement in his green eyes.

Oh god, just kill me now. _Kill me now_!

Miriallia stood behind me and I _swear_ I heard her snickering.

"Come on Cags! You're blocking the doorway!" she pushed me and I stumbled forward.

I looked up to see the guy who I had flashed earlier (and unintentionally!) look down at me. Oh crap.

"Uhm, uh, h-hi," I mumbled as I straightened up and looked at him. I could feel my cheeks burning; not good.

"Hello to you too," he replied. He blinked as did I. "I've got to say, I'm slighty surprised that you're in my class."

Class? Wait, if he said class then that must mean…He's a _teacher_?! The hot guy that I flashed earlier was my _English teacher_?! Oh my god, I'm so mortified right now! I want to cry!

I glanced at Miriallia who was now standing beside me.

"You're our new English teacher?" she asked.

The guy nodded. "Yes, call me Mr. Zala. I'll be taking over Mr. Patrick Zala's job now."

"Patrick Zala? Wait so then that must mean that…"

He laughed. "Yes, that's right. I'm his son; Athrun Zala."

How come I suddenly felt disappointed?

"Well, pardon my asking, but just how old are you Mr. Zala? Aren't you a young to be a teacher?"

"Miriallia!" I hissed.

Mr. Zala laughed. "It's quite alright, Cagalli?" he tried to look at me but I kept glancing down.

I gulped. "H-how'd you know my name?"

"Oh, well I heard your friend say your name a minute ago."

God I felt like a moron.

He turned his gaze to Miriallia. "And I assume you're Mirialla correct?"

She grinned. "I sure am; the one and only."

He chuckled. "Well, to answer your question…I'm only twenty-one."

"_Twenty-one_?! That's insanely young!" Miriallia said in astonishment. I was on the same page as her.

"Yes, well, I actually learned a lot from my father, so when he said he was going to retire, I volunteered to take over. And the school was already familiar with me so they didn't mind."

Seriously, why was I feeling disappointed? It's starting to get on my nerves!

"Well, take your seats, class will begin in two minutes," he turned his back to us and resumed writing stuff on the whiteboard.

Miriallia and I took our usual seats in the back row.

"Hey, Cagalli, looks like you can't hook up with him anymore; he's too old for you," she whispered.

I turned to glare at her. "Stuff it Miriallia! And besides,"—I opened my binder and opened a book I was currently reading—" Who ever said I was even going to have a chance anyways?"

"Oooo, looks like someone's crushing on the teacher already."

I looked up from the book. "Am not!"

She grinned. "Sure you're not."

I growled and looked out the window. God, this year was going to blow.

People had started to come in; Meyrin was among those people. She sat two rows in front of us, and already, she was leering at the teacher. Wow. Wasn't she like sleeping with Yuna or something?

As soon as the class got settled, the bell rang.

"Alright class, hi. I'm your new teacher; Athrun Zala. It's nice to meet all of you and please open your books to the chapter you guys left off two days ago."

Oh yes, this class was going to be awfully awkward.

* * *

**And here is the second chapter! Yay! Lol. Well let me say, that I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far, because I sure as hell am enjoying writing it so far. (smiles)**

**So yeah, now can you start to see the ties in between the characters so far? Well, I hope it answers your guys' questions. Well I'm off to write down another future scene between Cags and Athrun and Meyrin. Ooooo it's gonna be filled with angst and longing-ness! Hahahaha! And I have a handful of scenes between Athrun and Cags already written AND I have a cool irony scene between Athrun, Cagalli, and Kira. Oh yes. I'm loving it. **


	4. Party and Yuna Makes a Move

**Wicked Temptation**

**"**

**Chapter 3: Party and Yuna Makes a Move**

**"**

After my awkward class session with my English teacher, I walked home with Miriallia; and she would _not_ let the whole me-flashing-the-teacher-and-then-fate-biting-me-right-in-the-ass thing alone.

"Cagalli, admit it! You _like_ him!"

"I don't like him Miriallia!"

"Yes you do. You had that disappointed look on your face."

I glared at her. "I did not!"

"Did too; I _so_ saw it!"

I rolled my eyes. "Let me guess, the whole 'reading a person's expression' crap right?"

She nodded. "And I saw the expression of disappointment on _your_ face. Too bad you're seventeen, and he's twenty-one"

I shook my head. "Miriallia Haw; will you _ever_ listen? Even if I was eighteen, I would _never_ stand a chance with him."

"Disappointment…"

I growled as I turned to smack her but she ducted and moved forward.

"Missed me Cags!"

"You immature brat."

We continued to walk until we reached my house (which was like thirty to forty minutes away from the school). "Are you going to come over?"

"Nah, I want to go home and shower and get ready for the movies."

"Oh, okay. I'll see you later then," I waved at Miriallia as she continued to walk down the sidewalk. (We lived close to each other, so we saw each other almost regularly.)

I sighed as I walked up the steps to the house. I opened the door and was greeted by the aroma of cookies. I knew, without having to think, instantly who it was; the only girl who I have ever known to love to cook so much.

"Hey Lacus."

She turned around, the ends of her ponytail whisking her cheek, and greeted me with a warm smile. (She _always _wore one; no matter what. She was like, the incarnation of pure good. But let me tell you something; you make her mad, and I mean _really, really_ mad…And it's scary).

"Hello Cagalli how was your day?" yup, she was definitely the incarnation of good. But hey, I liked her. She is by far (and quite possibly) the _only_ girlfriend of Kira's that I've ever liked.

I slumped my bag on the couch as I walked to the kitchen and sat on a stool.

"Aah, it was okay. Quite mortifying actually," I looked around. "Where's Kira and Stellar?"

"Oh, well Kira had to run to the store and Stellar went out with friends," she grabbed the oven-mitts and opened the oven.

"That little brat, she didn't tell me that she was going to go out."

Lacus straightened up. "Well, she did mention not seeing you at all today, so she decided to call."

"Well, whatever," I hopped off of the stool and walked to a cabinet to get a drinking glass.

"I hope you'll like the cookies I made."

"Don't I always? I mean honestly, you're cooking is like; I've died and gone to heaven."

She giggled. "Well I'm just glad that you guys enjoy it."

"Yeah, I think it even surpasses my mother's cooking…." I frowned and stopped in front of the fridge.

"Cagalli…"

"No, it's fine, it's just that…I keep thinking they'll come back one of these days…Even though it's been four years now."

I looked at the picture that was hanging on the fridge held by a small magnet. It was a picture of both my parents; they had died four years ago in a car crash. Some drunken moron had crashed into them in October, and they never made it to the hospital. I was thirteen, Kira was seventeen, and Stellar was twelve. And we lost our parents at that age.

But Kira was never hindered by it. He's done a good job of supporting us since then. But still, there are some wounds that can never be completely healed; I guess this is just one of them.

I flinched as Lacus pulled me into a hug.

"Cagalli, it's okay to still mourn for them every once in a while. You don't have to keep putting up this façade all the time. Just let it out and then move on."

I said nothing. I just sighed and pulled away from her; opening the fridge. I had to change the subject or else I'd be thinking about it for the rest of the weekend.

"So, are you guys doing anything tonight?" I asked as I put back the pitcher of orange juice and brought the drink to my lips.

Lacus frowned at me (for changing the subject most likely) and then went back to attending her cookies. "Well," she sighed, "Kira wants us to go out and have dinner at this new restaurant."

"Oh, that sounds exciting," I walked to the oven and peeked in. Mmmm…Chocolate chips cookies! An all time favorite.

"What about you? What are you doing? It is a Friday after all."

"Well,"—I straightened up and put my empty glass cup in the sink—" Miriallia, Shinn, Auel, and I are going out to watch a movie."

"A rated R movie huh?" Lacus giggled.

I pretended to be appalled. "What are you implying Cylne? That I'll use my new age to finally be able to see R-rated movies without the consent of an adult? Never!"

She smirked at my sarcasm. "You just turned seventeen two months ago and you're already out on the prowl huh?"

I shrugged. "Pretty much; but we couldn't get in either way, Auel's not old enough. Only I, Shinn, and Miriallia are."

"Poor Auel."

"Sucks for him; he's the one who had to be born in December."

"Which reminds me Cagalli,"—she turned to look at me, her expression frustrated—"My sister hasn't been doing anything to bother you at school has she?"

I laughed. "No, but even if she was, I can take care of myself you know,"—I noticed the expression on her face and quickly remedied the situation—"No offence you know."

"Hmm, well, okay I guess. I mean I've tried to get her to talk to me, to understand why she acts the way she does, but she never opens up. And lately…Well lately she's been acting kind of strange."

The beeper went off and Lacus grabbed the oven-mitts and opened the oven to take the cookies out.

Just then the door opened and Kira walked in.

"Mmm, it smells good in here; smells like chocolate chip cookies."

"That's cause it is you moron," I leaned away from the counter next to the sink and cleared a way for Lacus to place the cookies.

"Oh, Cagali, you're home."

"Yeah I'm home. Did you hear about—"

He cut me off. "Stellar coming home later? Yeah. I know."

"Hmmm, well she didn't say anything to me at school today."

"Well you hardly see her at school, and she is a junior, and you are a senior…So it would make sense."

I shrugged. I leaned my arms against the counter as I watched Lacus put the cookies on a plate in a neat, organized way with a spatula.

"So Cagalli," I looked at Kira. "Do you have any plans tonight?"

"Well actually…I do," I leaned away from the counter and grabbed a cookie from the plate as soon as Lacus was done unloading them. "I'm going out with the gang to the movies."

"The movies eh? Already on the prowl?"

"That's the same thing I told her," Lacus giggled.

I rolled my eyes as I bit into the cookie; it was still warm and gooey (from the chocolate chips of course).

"Whatever," I walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs to my room.

A couple of hours later I heard the bell ring from downstairs and then Kira's voice.

"Cagalli! It's Miriallia!"

"Coming!" I yelled as I shrugged denim jacket over my black tank top and straightened out my denim skirt with the studded belt. I adjusted my below knee-length black boots and then headed downstairs.

"Someone's looking to get whistled at tonight eh?"

I rolled my eyes as I stopped in front of Miriallia. "Oh shut up Miriallia."

She laughed. I turned to see Kira and Lacus coming out from the living room.

"So, you guys are going to the movies?"

"Yup,"—Miriallia put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me to her—"And don't worry Kira; we won't let anyone kidnap Cagalli."

"Oh puh-lease, as if anyone would," I grabbed Miriallia's arm and took it off my shoulder.

Kira chuckled. "Well just make sure you don't come back late, and call Stellar and tell her where you'll be."

"Why? Aren't you going to be here?"

"Well actually…" Kira's purple eyes glanced at Lacus.

"Wha?" I blinked and then it hit me; _Oh_, ew.

"Well we gotta go now; Shinn and Auel are waiting," Miriallia grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door.

"Don't get into trouble Cagalli!"

Like I would. I trudged down the steps (because of Miriallia pulling me) and pulled my hand out of Miriallia's grip.

"What the hell Miriallia? Why the hurry?"

She turned to look at me; her devious grin plastered on her face.

"Dude! Auel called me before I left the house and he told me that the party was on for tonight!"

"Tonight? But weren't his parents going to leave until tomorrow?"

"Nope, change of plans. They decided to head out earlier so they could book a hotel and tour around a little."

"So let me guess; he wants us to help him get everything ready right?"

"You got it hon! Now let's go."

As if on cue, Shinn's car pulled up beside us. The driver's door window rolled down and Shinn poked his head out.

"You ladies need a ride?"

"Oh wow, why do I get the feeling that this was planned out?" I asked.

"Because it so was," Miriallia said as she opened the passenger door.

I sighed as I hopped into the back seat. Oh boy, this would be fun.

As soon as we got to Auel's house we immediately set everything up and he got busy into calling people to his place. And at exactly eight, it was crowded.

I leaned against the wall that was near the stairs overlooking the people that were dancing in the middle of the living room to the music the dj (a guy from our school who so happens to have a part time job as a dj at one of the hottest clubs) was playing. There were people drinking here and there, and I had a red plastic cup in my hand (filled with beer of course).

I sighed as I leaned away from the wall and headed to the backyard. I should probably call Stellar…God knows where she is now.

I took out my cell phone and dialed her number. I waited for it to ring and then she answered.

"Hello?" she was giggling.

"Stellar? Where are you?"

Her giggling stopped abruptly and I heard 'shh' sounds. "Umm, uh, I'm still at the movies."

"Movies huh? Then why do you sound so nervous? And what's that music in the background?"

I heard guys yelling in the background and people yelling 'chug chug chug'. And then it hit me.

I stomped over to the back part of the house (near the pool) and saw Stellar standing there with her friends holding a red cup. I narrowed my eyes as I snapped my cell phone shut and staked over to her.

"Stellar Hibiki! You are in _so_ much trouble _beyond_ reason!"

She snapped her head up at me; her magenta eyes widened with fear.

I grabbed her arm and pulled her with me.

"Cagalli! This is so unfair! I want to stay!"

I let go of her wrist and spun around to face her. "You want to stay? No! You're going home."

"But Kira isn't there!"

"How did you get here?"

"Uh, well, after we saw a movie we headed to the house, but Kira wasn't there. So Myra got a call and said that there was a party, but I didn't know it was going to be at Auel's house!"

I was going to yell at her some more (because hey, she was _only_ fifteen and drinking!) but I felt someone's hand on my shoulder.

"Relax Cagalli; let her stay here for a while. If you want we'll keep her inside so she won't do anything without you knowing."

I exhaled frustrated. "Shinn…"

"Hey, it's a Friday. You remember how frustrating it was to be a junior and not being able to have any fun right?"

I glanced at Stellar's pleading eyes and then looked down. Well, Kira did say to watch over her….So….I guess it wouldn't hurt….

"Alright," I sighed. She smiled. "_But_ on one condition."

"What? What is it?"

"You _have_ to stay inside where Miriallia, Shinn, or…Well….Not Auel, but I can see you alright?"

She nodded and headed inside. "Oh, but Stellar?!"

"Yeah?"

"No drinking."

She scowled at me and threw the drink on the ground. "Party-pooper."

"You see? It wasn't that hard compromising now was it?"

"Oh shut it Shinn," I walked away from him and went inside. I saw Miriallia dancing away in the center (she was always the life of the party in one way or another.)

I chuckled as I went into the kitchen where I saw Auel flirting away with a buzzed girl. He looked up at me and grinned.

"Yo Cagalli!"

"Hey Mr. Smoothness, already working your charm huh?"

He laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "You know me."

"Oh do I ever," I refilled my cup and walked out of the kitchen leaving him to his flirting. I walked into the living room and groaned.

"Well, well, well, how did a loser like you get invited to a party huh?"

"I happen to be friends with the guy who's throwing the party you dumb bimbo."

Meyrin laughed. "Oh, that's right; your loser friends are throwing this party huh? So I guess they won't mind if I fuck up this house a little huh?"

I growled as I brought my face inches away from hers. "Look you filthy promiscuous broad, if you do anything, and I mean _anything_ to ruin this party….I'll kick your ass without hesitation. But I bet you wouldn't want that…Not if you want to look like how I left Flay a while back."

I heard Flay growl at me. Ha! So she remembers. I glared at Meyrin; "Got it?"

She pushed me away and moved her hand in front of her face, as if fanning away something. "Ugh! Get away from me! You smell like a drunken old guy!"

"Better than to be the school slut," I shot back.

"Now, now ladies, no need to fight." I think I threw up a little in my mouth at the sound of that voice.

"Yuna, nobody asked you to bud into this you dumb fuck."

"My Cagalli, still have that temper do you?"

"Yuna…The girls and I are going to walk around. Be sure not to catch any rabies from this animal," Meyrin said. As she walked past me and made a growling noise and the dumb bitch jumped. Haha! Always laugh scaring her. It's so funny.

I drank from the red cup again as I walked away (ignoring Yuna's existence of course) and was pulled back and pushed against the wall. I looked up to see him leering at me.

"You know Cagalli, you look really sexy tonight," oh my god…I think I was going to gag. He put both hands on the wall creating a barrier between me and the chance of getting away from him. He leaned his face close to mine and ran his nose from my neck to the side of my face. "You smell delicious too."

"Oh, so sorry, but I can't say the same about you. You smell like some raunchy, rancid aftershave."

He chuckled. He grabbed my wrists (which caused my drink to fall! Bastard! Auel was _so_ going to kill me…But then again…There were a lot of people, so he wouldn't know the difference) and pinned them above my head; his hands creating shackles around them.

"You know Cagalli…I've always wanted you. I just slept with Meyrin because I pitied the little fool; always wanting to surpass you in every way but never succeeding," he grabbed both of my wrists with one hand and let the other fall to my waist. "I could show you the night of your life if you let me Cags."

I felt his hand fall to my thigh and creeping its way up in between them…Oh hell fucking no! No one, _especially_ this pansy piece of shit, was going to fondle me without my permission!

I lifted my right knee up and kicked him swift and hard in the groin. He left go of my wrists and yelped in pain as he fell to his knees.

"Hey, Yuna baby, if you're looking for some ass tonight, don't come to me. You forget; your little slut's over there, and it's not _me_," I stepped over his crouched form and walked to the kitchen (ignoring the many stares from people) to get myself another drink.

Yup, he had it coming. I walked to Miriallia and Stellar who were staring at Yuna from the middle of the room.

"Cagalli, did you just kick Yuna in the—"

"Yup."

"Cagalli, oh my god…Imagine the scandal they'll be come Monday morning," Stellar said. Oh crap.

I shrugged. "Oh well, he should know better than to put a move on me. He knows I detest him; poor deluded sap actually thought I wanted him? Ha! What a laugh."

* * *

**And so ends the third chapter. Lol. I'm very much aware that it was long, but they'll be some chapters where it's long and it isn't long. So this basically covered the other characters (though I still have a few more).**

**Also, the first part of the story; the "Preface" is the intro to the story…It is NOT the first chapter. No. The first chapter is when Cags flashes Athrun.**

**And let me see what else…Oh yes, Meer and Lacus ARE sisters (in the story) and Kira, Cags, and Stellar ARE siblings. And well I think that pretty much covers some questions I got. **

**And tomorrow I'll be resuming school (oh joy…) so I'll be lagging on updates. Though that doesn't mean I won't work on the chapters over the week. The latest that I'll post the next chapter is this Friday (or hopefully during the week).**

**And I'll leave you guys with the ending pairings: Ath/Caga, Kir/Lac, Stellar/Shinn, Miriallia/Dearka, Meer/Auel, Luna/Ray, Yzak/Shiho, Flay/no one, Meyrin/No one, Yuna/no one. **


	5. Rumors and Feelings

**Wicked Temptation**

**"**

**Chapter 4: Rumors and Feelings**

**"**

Oh my god…It's Monday. I walked into the school's entrance; dreading the day to come because I was extremely tired and I really wasn't in the mood to be here. So, let me recap what has happened in the last, oh I don't know, past four, five days?

Friday, I flash a guy who I didn't know ( and who by the way was _really_ hot…Oh damn these lustful thoughts) only to find out that said guy was my new twenty-one year old English teacher taking on his father's job; Patrick Zala.

That same Friday night, I go home, find out that the whole going-to-the-movies- night plan was cancelled; because of Auel's killer party which yes, it did involve kegs, beer, dancers on tables, and the all time classic: couples and drunk people making out and taking it to the next level by doing the do in the upper rooms. And then I find my fifteen year old sister, Stellar, drinking with her friends beside Auel's pool (which I made her throw to the ground and not drink at all the whole night, which she didn't). Then, I follow her inside only to see stupid Meer come in with the grotesque, conceded, son of a bitch Yuna who tried to make a move on me for which I in return, kicked him swiftly and hard in the groin.

After doing the said kicking, I got a little buzzed and didn't notice Auel's parents come in the door. It turned out that they had missed their flight and decided to exchange their tickets for the next day and then decided to come home to rest (so you can imagine their faces when they saw a dozen or more wild, sex-crazed, hormonal teenagers drinking away on booze, dancing topless on top of their couches and tables, making out on the stairs, throwing their vases around as if they were footballs, puking their insides out in the backyard, chill-axing in their pool, _naked_ mind you, and well, completely trashing their house). It was disastrous, but funny at the same time.

So what did they do? They completely yelled at the top of their lungs for them to get out; except me, Shinn, Miriallia, Stellar, and of course, their brilliant beyond brilliant son; Auel. Yes, it _blowed_. We got stuck picking up _everything_. The plastic cups, the toilet paper that was scattered around, cleaning up after people's vomit (I almost threw up myself), and you get the picture. It dragged! And to top it off, I was still buzzed, and they _called_, _they called_, Kira, Miriallia's parents, and Shinn's parents to come and pick us up because we had been drinking. Can you believe that?! Un-fucking-believable! I was so pissed that I 'accidentally' knocked down one of their vases.

So after the party, the cleaning, the lectures, the patronizing, the yelling's, and the groundings were all over…It was three in the morning. Yeah; _three_ in the morning.

So then came Sunday, and let me tell you something; Sundays have _never_ sucked so much like this one. I stayed cooped up inside the house all day long with Stellar's whining, no internet, phone, or television, and I had to pull out all the weeds that were growing in the front yard and back yard. So yeah; it blowed. And then the worst part; Kira woke me up at _six in the morning_ to jog with him! My feet were lagging, I was tired, I had a hangover (a small one, nothing major), and I almost fell into the park lake because I was half asleep. Grrr….

And now school….God, just kill me now.

"Hey Cags, how'd the grounding go?"

I turned around to see Miriallia, Shinn, and Auel walking towards me. My shoulders sagged and I sighed.

"How do you think? What was your guy's penalty?"

"I have three weeks of grounding, my car taken away for a month, my cell phone taken away for a week, no internet for a week, and no guitar for two weeks," Shinn muttered.

"I got my laptop taken away for two weeks, my beautiful blackberry phone taken away for a week, chores for two weeks, and actual grounding; for like two weeks."

"Two weeks?! Why?!"

"Because Auel, unlike you, my parents want to give their obedient daughter a firm punishment, but not too firm,"—she adjusted the strap of her bag—"And besides, I kind of need my laptop for writing the essays for colleges and stuff."

Auel sighed. "Well you guys suck. I got the most brutal punishment known to teenage kind; five weeks no cell, six weeks no internet, ten weeks no television, and the actual grounding; a month."

"Ouch."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, it makes sense because you threw the party at your parent's house."

"Shut the hell up Shinn!"

They all looked at me; "Well?"

I blinked twice and sighed; "Four weeks no cell phone, three weeks no internet, five weeks no television, and actual grounding; three weeks."

Auel groaned. "This fucking sucks! By the time you guys get off of grounding, _I'll_ still be grounded!"

We shrugged at him.

"Sucks for you dude."

"Oh shut up Ms. I'm-such-a-fucking-goody-two-shoes-that-I-act-older-than-I-am!" he snapped at Miriallia.

Shinn and I looked back at them and sighed as we walked to our first period classes.

He looked up at me; his lightly bright red eyes holding hesitation. "Hey, Cagalli…Guess who asked me out."

I looked up at him. "I don't know; Lunamaria?"

He nodded solemnly. "Oh my fucking god, she asked me out during the party…And I said yes."

If I wasn't awake before, I sure as hell was now. "Whoa, when—I mean how…"

"Well, I was drinking, she was too, and she kind of found me and…Well…One thing led to another…."

"You _slept_ with her?!"

People who were walking by stopped momentarily to look at me. Oops.

"Keep it down Cagalli! Fuck."

"Sorry."

Miriallia and Auel were already walking beside us, listening in on the conversation.

"No, I didn't sleep with her… I _made out_ with her," he hissed.

"Oh, okay, I see."

"But wait, how does that count as going out?" Miriallia asked.

"Yeah, the way I see it, you guys just plain made out," Auel added.

"Unless…She thinks you guys are going out?" I mused.

"Precisely," he sighed.

"Oh, that sucks."

Miriallia agreed with Auel. "Yeah, she's a _very_ tenacious girl in a subtle way."

"Oh boy, this'll be fun."

Shinn grimaced. "You guys aren't helping…"

The bell rang. "Well, you guys, I'll see you at break," I waved at them as I walked away and headed towards Governments class.

"Alright class, you have the last twenty minutes to complete the quiz, now go!"

I sighed as Mr. Waltfield walked to his desk; his coffee mug _always_ in hand. He was such a coffee addict. Give him a can of coffee and he'll be happy. Seriously; he'll like go on and on about the different kinds of coffee beans, where they come from, and how they get it into coffee beans. Total addict, hands down.

I leaned my head on my desk as I began to write out the answers when I felt someone poke me form behind. I straightened up and glanced behind me.

A girl with long wavy brown hair and two barrettes in her hair subtly handed me a note.

I narrowed my eyes down at the folded piece of paper. I looked up to see if Mr. Waltfield was watching the class; nope, too busy drinking his coffee. I quickly grabbed it from her hand and turned back around. I opened it and read it.

It said; _Meyrin told me what you did you little whore. God Cagalli, you are such a skank. Will you ever keep your hands off of other girl's boyfriends? And oh yeah, nice going on getting caught you dumb bitch. Even I could've done better at not being caught. Anyways, just wanted to let you know that the school is talking about how you and Yuna were hooking up, be happy, you finally got the man that you want. Of course, after Meyrin was done with him. Lol. Toodles little slut;_

_Sincerely, Flay._

I exhaled as I crumpled the paper. I knew this was going to happen, but yet I had hoped….I glanced at Flay who was sitting in the back row.

She looked up from her paper; a smug smirk on her face.

Fucking a.

"Alright, time's up! Pass them up!"

"Awww, I hate gossipers."

Miriallia looked at me. "What's wrong Cags? You heard the rumors already?"

I nodded. It was Tuesday, and the rumors were _still_ spreading like wild fire! It's incredibly ridiculous. Anyone with enough common sense would've known that we were not hooking up!

"You heard them too?"

"Yup; they were talking about during Trig."

"What'd they say?"

"Well…."—she looked at me—"Are you sure you want me to tell you?"

"Give her the verdict Mirially," Auel chimed in.

"Yeah, let's hear it; then _I_ can make fun of _her_."

I rolled my eyes. "Just spill."

"Alright, I've been hearing that you're a skank, a whore, a slut, a boyfriend-stealer, that you and Yuna would so make the 'perfect couple' because you both are sluts, that it's totally not true that you and Yuna are going out…"—she inhaled—"And that even Yuna is confirming that you two hooked up."

"Oh damn Cagalli, you're popular now," Shinn punched Auel in the arm. "Hey! I was just saying," he mumbled.

I sighed as I plopped down on a bench (I seem to sigh a lot don't I?). So much drama and its _senior _year.

"Cags?"

I looked up at them and looked back down. This totally beyond reason blows. "Well…Whatever; they're just doing that so they can see me crumble and fall to my knees and do what they say at their whim…"

I felt Miriallia slap me on the back. Ouch.

"That's the spirit Cags! I thought you were going to break down crying here."

"Yeah, talk about awkward," Auel chimed in.

"And besides, if you did breakdown, you'd be screwed because we wouldn't offer you comfort; it's not our forte."

"Gee thanks Shinn, I definitely now know I can _so_ count on you when I start to cry."

The bell rang and I got up (I didn't even eat lunch because of the stress! Wait, what if I start to breakout? Ugh; pimples….).

"Well guys, I'm heading off to class early; _so _not in the mood for anything right now but to go home."

Miriallia came up to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "Relax Cagalli, before you know it, it'll all blow over."

"Ch, I only hope."

The rest of the day I was grumpy, angry, and emotionally unstable (somewhat). I had gotten home after Algebra 2 (I'm not smart in Mathematics okay? I _detest_ it!) And went straight to my room without a word of acknowledgement to Kira, Lacus, or Stellar (which she acknowledged me by glaring at me); and stayed there the whole day.

"So, have things blown over yet?"

"What do you think Miriallia?"

She looked up, her finger on her chin and her lips pursued. "Well, I'd say yes?"

"Try half," I said as I adjusted my English binder from my left arm to my right.

"Half? How so?"

"Half the school believes it, the other doesn't," I muttered.

"Oh, well at least we have your favorite class next!"

I quirked an eyebrow; "Favorite class? And which is that if you don't mind me asking."

"Well English silly! You know; the hot new teacher in whom you flashed last week?"

I blushed. "Shut up Miriallia; you'll never stop reminding me of that incident will you?"

"Nope, it's too much fun!" she laughed as she opened the door to the room.

The teacher looked up. He was leaning against the whiteboard with a book in his hand.

I blinked as unexplainable emotions dropped on me like a set of bricks. There it was again; the feeling of disappointment. And it was really stupid because I didn't why I was feeling like this or where it came from. (Or maybe I did, just unbeknownst to me?).

"Hello ladies, you two seem to be early."

I glanced at the classroom clock; damn, he was right. The bell didn't ring for ten minutes.

"Well you know Mr. Zala,"--Miriallia walked to her desk and threw her bag onto the top—"We always arrive early to classes we like."

He chuckled; which caused me to almost swoon at the sound of his deep, masculine voice.

"Well, I'm glad you like this class so far Haw."

Miriallia grinned. "So, so! The teach has been studying up on his students over the weekend eh?"

Mr. Zala grinned as he walked to his desk and threw his book on it. "Are you always this charismatic?"

"Earns big points with the teachers," she laughed.

"Hmm, an effective maneuver indeed,"—he turned his gaze onto me—"And you Hibiki? Any traits that I should know of?"

I laughed nervously; goddammit all to hell. "Umm...No…N-not really…"

Miriallia walked to me and put an arm around me (god she does it like 24/7! And she _knows_ it annoys me!).

"This one here is a feisty one; so you better watch out! She's made a teacher cry once before."

He turned to look at me; an eyebrow quirked and his green eyes filled with amusement. "Is that so?"

I looked down (stupid traitorous blush!). "It was junior year; the teacher was making fun of me so…I retaliated against him by pointing out his tacky toupee and his dorky outfits. It was self-defense, honest."

I looked up to see him laughing.

"I have got to say Cagalli; you really are a rare one, a rare one indeed; and I like that."

I swallowed. He liked that? As in, _he liked me_? Well, no, not me…But my personality…? Gah, it was so confusing! I narrowed my eyes in confusion. Why was I getting all jumpy and nervous around him? And this excitement…All because he said he liked my personality? I've never felt this way except when I was hardcore crushing on this one guy from my eighth grade class…So can that mean that I…Well, that I'm…Crushing on him? No! It's _way_ too soon. And besides, he's a teacher, I'm a student; can anyone say red alert signs?

"Well, I'm sure you'll be on your best behavior,"—he walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder—"Right Cagalli?"

My heart was thumping and butterflies where batting their obnoxious wings inside my stomach. I broke out in cold sweat. "Aah…R-right…"

I didn't know Miriallia was still standing beside me until I felt her body quivering with laughter.

I blinked as I turned to look at her. "What?"

"Aww, Cagalli's blushing! I think you shouldn't tease her like that Mr.Zala!"

If tomatoes could look any redder, then they'd surely look like my face. How fucking humiliating. I was seriously going to get her back for this.

Mr. Zala cleared his throat as he pulled his hand away from my shoulder; as if realizing for the first time that he was touching me. And apparently, I wasn't the only blushing.

"Yes, well….Uh…Why don't you ladies take a seat hm?" he turned his back towards us and walked to his desk.

I stalked off to my desk; pissed as hell at Miriallia.

She plopped down beside me; that stupid annoying grin that signified complete and utter triumph at a friend's humiliation plastered on her freaking face.

"Aww, Cags, don't be shy! He likes you, so chill-ax, don't get all embarrassed," she whispered.

My jaw tightened. "Miriallia Haw, you are so dead beyond comprehension," I hissed; the threat clearly laced in my words.

Miriallia snickered. "Whatever Cags, you know I'm right."

"Oh? About what; you being an idiot? Or you being dead?"

"You liking him you silly goose!"

I gave an exasperated sigh as I looked away from her. "Whatever," I muttered. I looked straight ahead to the white board and I couldn't help but notice from the corner of my eye that someone was glancing at me ever so often.

I blinked as I looked at Mr. Zala's direction, only to have him tear his gaze away from me. He shook his head slightly as if telling himself not to think and/or do something; but what?

He looked up again and this time it was my turn to tear my gaze away from him. But before I did, I think (and it could be my imagination creeping up on me), I think I saw lust or wanting in his eyes. No, no, more like _desire_ in them. But the question was….Who was that desire might to be for?

"…agalli…"

"Hm?"

"Geez, where are you? I've been calling you for the past minute!"

"Oh, sorry Miriallia what's up?"

"I'm what's up…That's what."

I snapped my head up and saw Shinn looking down at us.

* * *

**Yeah I know, update is like two days late from what I originally planned to post this up…But I had to accompany a friend to church and Saturday I went on a manga-reading binge. I am **_**such**_** a glutton for manga! I'll tell which ones I was reading (because maybe some of you have read them?). They were **_**Bleach **_**and **_**Vampire Knight**_**. They are getting good and they gave me ideas! Lol.**

**For those of you who don't like Auel with Meer…Who should he be with? (And don't suggest Stellar…She's ending up with Shinn, it's permanent!). Or should I just make up a character??? ****And Cagalli/Kira/Stellar's parents **_**are**_** Ulen and Via Hibiki. Stellar **_**is**_** fifteen (her birthday is in December) and Cagalli **_**is**_** seventeen (her birthday is in November) and Kira's birthday is in July.**

**And so yeah, another filler, but the story kind of needs this one because well, for 1: you guys would probably want to know what happened after the party and 2: I needed the whole Shinn-Lunamaria incident in order to use it to ignite some of Athrun's jealousy for something Cags and Shinn will do. So yeah, that's basically why. Well I'm off; hopefully I'll post the 5****th**** chapter up by either Monday or Tuesday. **


	6. Helping a Friend Can Cause Problems

**Wicked Temptation**

**"**

**Chapter 5:**** Helping a Friend Can Cause Problems**

**"**

"So let me get this straight; you're now in our English class?"

"Yeah," he handed Miriallia and me the paper.

"So they made you drop Music? How come?"

"They didn't _make_ me drop it; the teacher just told me to get out of the class because I was being too disruptive," he snorted, "If you ask me, he was just mad because I pointed out his contradictions. So I was like screw it…And I dropped it."

I peeked to the side to see Mr. Zala staring at us tentatively. "Umm, did you give him your schedule already?"

Shinn blinked. "Who?"

"Uh the English teacher dufus," Miriallia gave him back the paper.

"Who?"—he nodded in the direction of Mr. Zala—"That guy?"

Miriallia and I both nodded.

"Really? If you asked me, I'd say that he looks like a teacher's aide or something."

"Don't judge a book by its cover…."

"Oh please Miriallia, as if you haven't done that countless of times," I reminded her.

"Well, I'm going to go show him my schedule," Shinn stood up and placed the green seat back against the stack of chairs in the back.

Miriallia scooted closer to me. "I still can't believe he just barged in here with out showing Mr. Zala the schedule. If I were the teacher I'd snap at him."

"Ah, but you see, that's _you_. The teacher isn't like that." I glanced at Miriallia who had a gleam in her aqua-green eyes. "What?"

"And how would you know that he isn't—"

"Don't start that again."

She pouted. "Fine, be a wet blanket."

"Wet…Blanket?"

She snickered. "Yeah, wet blanket."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It's another word for party-pooper hon."

"Oh, so then why didn't you just say that?"

"Because," she smirked, "I like seeing that confused look on your face!"

I gently slapped her shoulder. I turned my attention back to Shinn who was at the front of the class standing in front of Mr. Zala. They were talking kind of loud so I could hear them from where I sat.

"Hmmm, it seems that you didn't have English class before, right?"

He nodded. "That's right, I decided to take Music instead…But I dropped out."

"Bummer," Mr. Zala looked up from the schedule and handed it to him. "Well Shinn, welcome to English 4, I'm Mr. Zala, your English teacher obviously."

Shinn eyed him. "You know, at first you didn't look like a teacher…Aren't you a little too—"

"Young?"

Shinn nodded.

Mr. Zala grinned (I couldn't help but keep my gaze lingering on his smile…). "Well, I suppose so, but I know enough of the standards to decently teach you guys. So don't worry, you'll be educated well enough."

Shinn stared at him (I could tell he was giving him one of those looks—the ones that said 'are you mentally retarded or something?').

"Alright, you may sit on the fourth row, two seats up."

Shinn nodded and walked towards us. He grabbed his backpack and looked at us. "Well you guys, I'm going to sit two rows away from you…Do you mind telling me who I'll be sitting next to for the rest of the year?"

Mirirallia and I both looked at each other.

"Uhh, I think you sit next to this one blonde girl…."

"I think it's a guy," I commented.

Shinn sighed. "Well, whatever. I'm gonna go sit down. The people are pouring in already."

We waved at him as he walked over to his desk. The bell rang and people were already settled in.

"Alright, class has begun. Now, can anyone tell me what the chapters I assigned to you were about?"

I blinked as I stared at Shinn. "Umm…Shinn…Why are you hiding?"

"Because of Lunamaria! She won't leave me the hell alone! I've tried to tell her over, and over again that we're not going out! But she doesn't listen," he hissed.

I laughed at him. "Oh my god, that's so funny! You can't get rid of her!"—he glared at me—"What? That's what you get for being drunk and kissing her you idiot."

"Yeah, well…"

I shook my head. We were at school (a Wednesday) and he was _still_ avoiding Lunamaria. And by the looks of it, she sure was clingy.

"Hey, Cagalli, help me out please?"

I looked down at him. It was pretty funny. He was crouching down behind a boulder. He looked ridiculous.

"Huh? How do you want me to help out?"

"Well,"—he looked away from me, his cheeks reddening—"Can you say that we're, you know…Going out?"

My eyes widened. "Going out? Shinn…I don't think that'll work."

He looked at me, his red eyes were desperate."Please Cagalli! I can't get _rid of her_! I've tried _everything_."

"So then why don't you just slap her? Slap some common sense into her."

"You know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I have morals you know."

I held in a sigh. This was starting to get ridiculous. But since he _is_ one of my best friends….But at the same time it'll be awkward. And let me explain why it will be awkward.

You see, back in middle school we went out. It was during eighth grade year. We liked each other and well, we went out. Yeah, we did make out, and yeah, we _almost_ took it _all_ the way…But…It just didn't feel right. It felt like we were just forcing ourselves to go out just because we had thought we liked each other (We did like each other, don't get me wrong….But it just didn't _feel_ right). So it was a mutual agreement that we break up because we both thought it'd be better if we were just friends. (Even though I still liked him a wee bit…).

And so that's why it's awkward. And which is why I'm so reluctant.

"Cagalli?"

I snapped out of my reminiscing thoughts and looked down at him (well actually up since he had stood up now). I blinked at him as I thought about the pros and cons.

The pros would be: alleviating him of Lunamaria (probably for good) and he would have to owe me a _huge_ favor (which I shall take to my advantage! Hahahahaha).

The cons would be: Lunamaria and her skanky army would be after me to kick my ass; people will start assuming that we _really_ are going out (which we're not! It's just a _façade_), and more rumors will spread.

Hmmm, I have to say, I don't really like the looks of it at all. But he is my friend, and he did help me more than once…So I guess…

"Alright," I sighed, "I'll _pretend_ to go out with you…But on one condition."

His eyes lightened up. "Alright! What is it?"

I pointed at him with my finger. "_You_ must buy _me_ tickets to the Paramore concert which will be in one week as a favor that you owe me for this." See? Didn't I say I would take the favor to my advantage?

"Alright, that seems reasonable…"—he looked at me—"How many?"

I thought about it. "How about two? Unless you and Auel want to come with us." (Us meaning Miriallia and I).

"Well Haley _is _hot,"—I rolled my eyes at him and smacked him in the arm (Haley was the lead singer of the band)—"Alright. I'll guess I'll buy you guys the tickets."

"Alright then, it was nice compromising with you kind sir who-will-be-buying-me the-twenty-dollar-tickets."

"Twenty dollars?! In total that'll be…"

"Eighty dollars plus tax," I smirked. Ahh, I just knew how to trap a person way too good.

He frowned at me. "You're good Cagalli, I'll give you that."

I shrugged. "Hey, I know what I want."

"Yeah, well, come on. Miriallia and Auel are probably wondering where we are."

As we walked to the quad (because we where all the way in the D-building) a question popped into my head.

"Wait, if we do pretend to go out..."—I looked down, it still felt weird saying that—"We have to tell Miriallia and Auel that it's just pretend so they won't jump to assumptions."

He nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, we kind of have to,"—he looked at me—"Don't worry Cagalli, I already have my eyes set on someone," he had a smug smirk on his face.

I narrowed my eyes. "And just what the hell are you trying to imply Shinn Asuka? That I _like_ you or something?"

"Maybe…"

"Oh yes Shinn! You caught me! I'm so madly, _deeply_ in love with you that I just can't stand it anymore!"—to make my sarcasm even more dramatic, I leaned my head onto his shoulder and wrapped my arms around his left arm—"I'm so glad you finally acknowledge my love for you darling!"

Shinn looked at me and let out a loud, good, laugh.

I punched him and laughed along with him.

"Wow Cagalli, you sure are dramatic when you want to be. Maybe you should've taken Drama class…Maybe then it would've been believable."

"Are you kidding me? Me take Drama?"—I let go of his arm and pulled my head away from his shoulder—"I'd be falling asleep everyday I had that class."

We laughed as we approached Miriallia and Auel who were already standing at the spot where we hang out.

"What's so funny?"

"Yeah, we want in on the joke too!"

Shinn and I stopped laughing and looked at them.

"We're going out," he blurted.

Miriallia and Auel tensed up immediately as they looked at us. I could see they were contemplating on what to say or what to do.

I couldn't help it, so I started laughing my head off again. "We're kidding you guys! God, you two are so gullible!" I said as I clutched my stomach.

They both dropped their stiff positions and relaxed.

"That was so not funny Cags."

"Shinn, you fucking jerk-off."

Shinn laughed at Auel. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. It was oh so tempting."

"But seriously, are you guys _really_ going out?"

This time I was the first to stop laughing. "What? No, of course not,"—I wiped away the droplets of tears that were at the corner of my eyes—"We're just pretending to so Lunamaria will leave him be. And he's got his eyes on someone else already."

They both looked at him. "Really? Who?!" they said in unison.

Shinn exhaled. "I'm not telling, so don't even ask."

They turned their eyes to me. "Hey, he didn't tell me either. So I'm also at a loss."

Miriallia put her hands on her hips. "Well, he's also at a loss too because he doesn't know who _you_ like."

Now it was my turn to get stared at. Stupid Miriallia.

"What?! I don't like anyone!"

"Actually, come to think of it, yesterday you were kind of staring at the English teacher a lot Cagalli…"

"Was not Shinn!"

"Oh yeah, I noticed that you had this look on your face, as if you were far away somewhere…"

"Miriallia!"

"Hey, who's this English teacher I keep hearing about?"

"Keep hearing about?"

"You guys haven't heard? All the girls who have him as a teacher are always gushing about him in the other classes,"—he rolled his eyes—"Your English teacher is taking away all the hot girls…"

I felt a sudden tug at my chest. What was this sudden feeling? It felt as if I just wanted to hunt down every single girl and obliterate them…Or worse.

"What do they keep on saying?" I asked uncaring.

"Well, they keep saying: 'Mr. Zala's so hot!', 'He's so dreamy', 'I wonder if he has a girlfriend', 'I'd fuck him in an instant', 'He's so—'"

"Alright! I think I already have an idea of it…."

They stared at my sudden outburst. "What?"

"Well, you seem a little bit irked…." Miriallia said.

"Irked? Me? No. I just don't want to have English class tomorrow and have all those things running through my head."

Auel and Miriallia seemed to believe it, but Shinn looked at me. I narrowed my eyes at him. Did he even believe me? And what the hell was it with that concerned look in his eyes? It was really starting to piss me off (even more than I already was).

Just as I was about to speak my mind to him, I saw his hand shoot out, grab my arm, and pull me to his side. I couldn't fight the blush of embarrassment which resulted in it coloring my cheeks.

"Uhh….Shinn?"

"Quiet, just act normal…."

Right, normal. What the hell was normal anyway? Wait…I should act cool, calm, collected, and act like I like him (when in reality I don't).

I looked up and saw Lunamaria standing before us, her mouth agape and her eyes glistening. _Oh,_ I get it now. Nice.

"S-Shinn…What is this? Are you…Are you _cheating_ on me?!"

Shinn said nothing as he looked away.

I could see the rage in her eyes, the fury, the bloodlust…? (Kidding about the bloodlust). Seeing as Shinn wasn't going to say anything…

"Cheating on you? Uh, how can he be cheating on you when he was _never_ going out _with_ _you_?"

Her face twisted into a mixture of rage, jealously, and betrayal. I kind of felt bad for her. But hey, Shinn was my friend, and he was going to buy me those concert tickets….

"No! He's going out _with me_! Not _with you_! He even said so at the party! And he gave me a hickey!"

My eyes widened. Whoa. Just how heavy was the kissing anyways? I glanced at Meyrin (who was glaring at me), Flay (who was also glaring at me), and Meer (who wasn't glaring at me, but rather looking down at the ground…Do I see wavering?).

"Cagalli, let's go, leave these delusional skanks," Miriallia said as she started to walk away.

I nodded as Shinn, Auel, and I started to walk away.

"Don't fucking walk away from me!" Lunamaria grabbed Miriallia's arm and pulled her around to face her.

Oh fuck no she did not. If there's one thing I can't stand, is that if someone has shit against me, they take it upon themselves to involve my friends. That was just crossing the line.

I pulled away from Shinn and walked over to where Lunamaria held onto Miriallia's arm.

"Let go of me Lunamaria, I don't want to have to start shit with you," she said icily. Oh yeah, I could feel Miriallia getting irritated.

Lunamaria laughed. "Sorry, but Cagalli already started shit with me; and if she starts shit, then guess what? You get involved in it too."

I narrowed my eyes as I grabbed Lunamaria's arm and pried it away from Miriallia's arm. I stood in front of Miriallia and started to twist Lunamaria's arm.

"Don't fuck around with my friends Lunamaria. Your problem is with me and _me only_. Don't even try to start shit with them or my sister. Because if you do,"—I leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear—"I swear that I will kick your ass."

I threw her arm tersely to the side and leaned away from her. I felt someone tugging at my arm. I looked behind me and saw that it was Miriallia, Shinn, and Auel. It was then that I noticed that people were starting to gather around.

"Cagalli, come on, remember, you're on _probation_," Auel reminded me.

"Come on Cags, we'll kick their asses another time, just not now."

Shinn let go of my arm and walked to Lunamaria who just stood there, her whole being crumbling.

I saw that he leaned in close to her ear, whispered something, and walked away—leaving Lunamaria clenching her hands into fists and tears starting to slip past her eyelashes. Oh yeah, con number one: Lunamaria and her army of skanks would _definitely_ be wanting to kick my ass either tomorrow or sometime this week. Great.

I sighed as I walked beside Miriallia and slouched. It was sixth period, and thank god it was Thursday. Con number two had already taken effect—rumors were starting to go around that Shinn and I were going out. Don't these people have anything better to do than to gossip?

"Hey Cagalli…"

My head shot up. Miriallia almost rarely called me Cagalli…Unless she was serious or something. "Miriallia…?"

She stopped a yard away from English class and looked at me. "Thanks."

I blinked slowly. "For what?"

She shrugged. "For standing up to Lunamaria for me yesterday."

"Oh, that…"—I raised my arm and put it behind my back, a smile on my face—"Well, it pisses me off when people drag my friends or family into shit when they weren't the ones that started it."

She grinned at me. "Well, now that I thanked you….How about you tell me why you were so bothered yesterday when Auel was telling us what the other girls said about Mr. Zala."

"Bothered? I wasn't bothered."

"Yes you were. I could see it in your face…And not to mention the little glares you were throwing at the ones who are in our class period."

My eyes widened a bit. I was glaring? I thought I was just glancing or staring. "Uhh…I wasn't…?"

Before Miriallia could make a reply, someone bumped into, causing me to stagger forward a bit.

"Move your fat ass out of the way you whore."

I turned my head to see Meyrin walk toward English class. I growled as I grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall. I grabbed a hold of the flaps of her shirt.

"Listen you little fuck-shit, if you can't walk the walk, then don't start shit, because you will get seriously hurt if you don't stop."

Meyrin's eyes narrowed. She grabbed my shirt and clenched her hands into fists. "Don't underestimate me Hibiki…I am just as dangerous as you are; just in different ways."

"Cags…"

I ignored Miriallia and continued to glare at the bitch before me. "Is that a threat?"

"What does it look like you fucking freak? I've had just about enough of you and that disgusting blonde hair,"—her lips pulled into a smirk—"And your _sister's_ blonde hair also."

That did it. I raised my hand, about to slap her, but felt someone's fingers around my wrist. I blinked and looked up.

"Cagalli, Meyrin…What is the meaning of this?"

"M-Mr. Zala…"

"She's crazy Mr. Zala! All I did was say hi to her and she just pinned me against the wall!" Meyrin accused. What a dirty little liar!

He looked at her, his eyes not fully buying it. He turned to look at me. "Meyrin, go inside and wait there, you too Miriallia."

I turned to look at Miriallia, and nodded at her. I unwillingly let go of Meyrin. I exhaled angrily as she walked away, but not before sticking out her tongue out at me. What the hell was she? Five?

Mr. Zala turned to look at me fully. It felt like I was being smothered by his presence. "Can you explain to me just what is going on?"

I looked up at him, my hands were starting to get sweaty, and my heart was beating rapidly. I swallowed before I spoke. "Meyrin was provoking me with threats. She was threatening me, my friends, and my family…So I kind of got impulsive and…Well…you found me about to hit her."

He looked at him, his eyes clearly amused and studious. "I see,"—he sighed as he scratched his head—"Well, I really don't want to report to the Principal…So I guess I'll let you go with a warning…Understood?"

I solemnly nodded. "Understood."

He looked at me a little longer until he finally spoke. "I have to say Cagalli, you stand up for what you believe in and protect those you care about…I admire that about you."

I looked up at him. He just gave me a sheepish smile. It was breath taking.

"Now, let's get to class before the bell rings and people come in."

I nodded as I started to follow him but felt someone tug at my arm. I turned around and saw that it was Shinn.

"Cagalli, is everything okay?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yeah, everything's okay…Why?"

"Because I heard what Meyrin said to you…"—his gaze dropped to the tiled floor—"This is my fault….I shouldn't have involved you…"

I pulled my arm away from his grip and hugged him. "Shinn, it's okay, I wanted to help you anyway,"—I pulled away from him and lifted his head up—"Now, get that gloomy face off and act like the Shinn we all know—stuck-up, badass-ish, and doesn't give a damn in the world about what people think."

His eyes relented a little, until they finally lightened up. He smiled at me. "Thanks Cagalli, you're a great friend."

I returned the smile and grabbed his hand. "Now come on, we need to get to class." I pulled him toward class and walked in with him.

Meyrin looked up, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping.

Miriallia blinked and glanced at me. I rose up a finger, telling her that I'll tell her later.

Just as we walked past Meyrin she stopped me. "So, you two really are going out huh?"

I blinked at her then glanced at Shinn. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at the ground.

"Well…" I subtly yelped as he pulled me behind him.

"What's it to you if we are or aren't Meyrin? And tell Lunamaria to stop following me around school, there was never anything between me and her to break off to start with."

I glanced at Miriallia who looked on and then glanced at Mr. Zala. He was staring at us, his documents still in his hand.

He looked up and met my gaze—it threw me off. His eyes….His eyes…Jealousy, anger, and resistance was lingering in the greenness…..

I blinked as I quickly turned away from him. "Umm…Shinn…I think I'm going to sit down."

He looked down at me. "Alright…" he let go of my hand and followed after me.

I went to my desk, sat down, and burrowed my head into my arms. This sucked. Why was I feeling so sad? It was all because I was seeking Mr. Zala, because up until I saw his eyes…I was fine. And if his eyes affected me that much…Then to my dismay…It meant that Miriallia was right…The attraction I once felt for him evolved into liking…And that liking…Is evolving into something else…Something I know I'm going to dread.

* * *

**And so here is the fifth chapter. Whew. It took me about five hours to write. And I decided to make it long because well, you guys deserved it for waiting so long. Sorry for the lagging! You see, with school, authors tend to lag sometimes…But on the plus side…I only have two more weeks left until winter break! Which means I could possibly finish the story by New Year's? So yeah. And then I was going to work on it on Friday…But I went to a concert. And I was busy making onshots for Bleach.**

**And now the questions: Yes, there will be lemons between Ath/Cag, but not too detailed because 1: it makes me uncomfortable to write them too detailed and 2: people seem to like how I write my lemons (and I do too!). And Shinn's sister will appear in the story...Just not yet. **

**And don't worry, Athrun and Cagalli will be hooking up by the next chapter or so. So yeah, get ready for Athrun and Cagalli scenes. And I'm sure you'll be glad to know that I almost have the whole story worked out. I just hope it'll be below 20 chapters….Can you guys hold on for that long?**


	7. Audacity Takes a New Name

**Wicked Temptation**

**"**

**Chapter 6: ****Audacity Takes a New Name**

**"**

"I'm so stuffed," Miriallia stretched as she walked beside me.

It was the twenty-sixth of November, meaning, that our jolly-olly Thanksgiving break was over. Fucking great. Fanatastic. Fantabulous. (Note the sarcasm?).

"Well, how much did you gorge out on?" I asked as I looked at the ground.

I was pretty mellow after the heated events like, two weeks ago? Yeah, I had to lay low for a while. And speaking of laying low…I was feeling pretty depressed. Depression, depression, depression—it was my oh so lovely companion throughout the break (but it went away only temporarily for six hours during the Paramore concert). Now, I'm not one to get depressed easily, it had to take a _lot_ for me to get depressed. And it so happens that it did on the Thursday before break.

Yes, remember that spectacular Thursday in which I almost got into a fight with Lunamaria and Meyrin on the same day? And then when Shinn and I walked into English class together, _holding hands_, and then Mr. Zala stared at me? Yeah, a combo like that can get me depressed—which it did.

Thus landing me in the land of confusion and depression—what a crappy combo eh?

"Well, the usual," she shrugged. She seemed a bit off to me…But then again…I was off too. So I shouldn't really judge.

"Oh…" I didn't know what else to say. It was annoyingly awkward. I looked up to see that Miriallia had stopped walking. "Miriallia?"

She looked at me, her expression vehement. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.

"What the hell is up with you Cagalli?" uh-oh…She said my full name.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about," I said as I turned around.

"Yes you do! Don't tell me that the excitement from Thursday got to you!"

"Excitement? You think it was _exciting_?!"

"No! I thought it was _beyond_ exciting!"—she glowered at me—"Of course I don't!"

"Then why the hell are you asking?!"

"Because it makes me angry to see you like that!"

I straightened up, blinking." Like how?"

"Depressed! Agitated! Defeated!"

Oh, I got it now. "Is this what I think it is? A bitch-slap to reality?"

"Thank god! She understands!" she said dramatically. She stood in front of me now. "Yes! This is _exactly_ a bitch-slap to reality! Are you going to let Meyrin and her diluted sister, Lunamaria, get to you?!"

I looked away from her. I really didn't need patronizing right now.

"_Well_?!"

"It's not them…" I muttered.

"Then who?"

I dropped my gaze to the pavement, avoiding her eyes. It's true; it wasn't because of them that I was depressed. It wasn't even remotely close. It was a wholly different reason why I was like I was right now. And the explanation, or more rather, the _knowledge_ of why I was feeling depressed after Mr. Zala stared at me, escaped my mind every time I thought about it.

I sighed as I looked at her. "It's because of…"—I hesitated. What if she thought I was crazy? Or worse…_Diluted_?

"Go on….Tell me."

I dropped my gaze to my twiddling fingers. "Well, it's because of Mr.—" and then the bell rang. Talk about being saved by the bell huh?

Miriallia looked out at the quad and then back at me. "Cagalli, I feel like…."—she laughed—"God, I can't believe I'm going to say _the_ corniest line in all my High School years…." A long pause and then…

"Alright, my feelings….I feel like…We're growing apart, per say, no…Like….You're hiding something from me…Like you can't _trust_ me because you'll think I'll judge you in a bad way,"—she looked at me than sighed—"Well, anyways, when you trust me enough…Tell me, because quite frankly, depression doesn't suit you Cags."

My eyes widened as she walked past me to her first period class. Whoa, she's very analytic (and observative). How would one say it? She hit the nail in the head.

I looked behind me, but she was gone, already turning the corner. Fuck. I just knew how to screw things up too well.

I slumped my head on my desk as I listened to Mr. Waltfield go one about politics and his two cents on it.

Why did life have to suck? Why oh why did Mr. Zala have to be my new English teacher? Why couldn't it have been someone else? Because, up until now, I was doing good; hell, I was doing great! But then he came, and after having him for like twelve weeks, everything started to get obscured (my feelings to be more specific).

I sighed as I put my head up and into my hand.

"Hey, Cagalli, are you okay?"

I lazily blinked as I turned to look at the girl next to me—Kat.

"Yeah, I'm okay, why?"

She fidgeted nervously (she was shy, but she still had a butt-load of friends). "Well, because you seem depressed, and well, it doesn't suit you."

I inwardly laughed. That's the same thing Miriallia said to me this morning. What the hell was it today; ban-Cagalli-being-depressed day? Couldn't a girl be depressed and not have to be told it doesn't suit her?

All I did was gave her a small smile. "Oh, well, I'm a little bit down, but not majorily."

"Oh, alright then, because you know…"—she dropped her gaze—"For what it's worth, it helps to talk to people about it. I should know from experience."

"Thanks Kat, I'll take that into consideration…I appreciate it."

She smiled at me as she turned to look back to the front of the classroom.

Jeez, no wonder she had so many friends; she was genuinely nice. I flinched as I felt a light tap on my back. I turned around and saw the same girl with brown hair give me a note. I could bet my life it was Flay (judging by Flay's smug grin).

I sighed as I unfolded it and read it.

_Awww, what's the matter Cagalli? You know, 'it helps to talk to people about it. I should know from experience.' Hahaha! Ahhh that was such a refreshing riot (of laughter!). Well anyways you stupid ditzy whore, Lunamaria wanted me to tell you that you better watch your back. Who knows? Maybe you'll 'accidently' or 'randomly' get jumped along with your stupid sister and stupid nerd friend. _

_Despising you and your family,_

_Flay._

Un-fucking-believable! She has _such_ an audacity to do this? I crumbled the paper up and turned to glare daggers at her. The bitch only smiled and waved at me, blowing a kiss my way. Ew.

"Miss Hibiki, pay attention! Or must I punish you by making you buy me a hundred dollar's worth of Italian coffee hm?"

I slumped in my desk, pissed off and even more depressed as hell. "No sir, Mr. Waltfield. I'm all good not buying you your hundred dollar's worth of coffee."

"Excellent! Because I already bought some anyways!"—he held up his all too famous coffee mug in the air and drank out of it, then resumed his lecture—"Now, democrats are…"

Today would have to go under my completely shitty list (that's if I had one). It was lunch, and the air couldn't have been anymore thickened with awkwardness.

"So…How was everyone's break?" Auel asked (he was clearly uncomfortable seeing as he was unaffected by this whole ordeal).

"Okay," Miriallia mumbled.

I shrugged.

"Whatever," Shinn muttered.

Auel nervously chuckled. "Wow, you guys seem to be in the dumps huh?"

We all just shrugged and continued with our painful silence.

I looked at the ground and thought about things. I thought about the Hawke sisters and their 'threats'…The most plausible outcome? A showdown between them and me. Then came the issue about my incomprehensible (for lack of a better word) feelings when it came to Mr. Zala—that would probably led to a realization (or an epiphany) to my emotions. And then my friendship with both Miriallia and Shinn (Auel I didn't have to worry about because we were cool).

I suppose—now that I thought about her audacious move and her spilling her feelings—that I _could_ probably tell Miriallia about my confusion, and then I could have an unbiased (well, not a _completely_ unbiased) opinion on the matter and then that would led to the success of someone telling me what the hell is wrong with me.

And then Shinn…Well, I don't know where to start with this. He's ashamed and hates himself for putting me into deep shit with Lunamaria (even though I told him it was voluntary and willing). I just don't know how to make him understand that I wanted to because that's what friends did; they back each other up when they were being pushed against the wall.

I didn't even hear the bell ring until I felt someone shaking me (oh yes, I was _so_ out of it today).

"Come on, we have to go."

I looked up at Miriallia then looked down as I stood up and dusted off my skirt (which reached up to like, five or ten inches of my thighs). That's it, I've decided-I'm going to tell Miriallia. Now.

"Hey, Miriallia?"

She looked at me, her expression impassive. Ouch. "What is it?" she curtly said.

I looked down, playing with the hem of my shirt. "Well, remember what you said about telling you why I was depressed?"

She stiffly nodded.

"Well, you see….The reason why I'm depressed…is because…"—I inhaled and let it out—"Because I have unexplainable feelings when it comes to Mr. Zala but I don't know what exactly it is I'm feeling!"

I looked up at her to see that she stopped walking momentarily and then resumed.

"That's all?"

"Huh?"

"That's what you were hiding from me?" Miriallia started to laugh.

I narrowed my eyes at her and frowned. What. The. Hell. It wasn't funny! It wasn't intended to be funny! I growled as I walked away from her.

"Ah! Oh my god, Cags, wait up!" she managed to say in between laughs.

I glared at her as she grabbed her stomach and tried to calm down.

"Well? Are you done laughing at me? God, I shouldn't have told you anything!"

"Aw, come one Cags! I was just laughing because you take it so serious!"—she straightened her posture and continued to walk—"But I'll tell you my diagnostic after school, see ya!"

I stood there, staring at her retreating form. Wow. Well glad to know that I patched things up with her.

So, after school rolled around and she lied; she didn't give me her diagnostic, instead, she started to shoot off questions like crazy.

I sighed as I headed to English class (the next day)--Miriallia and Shinn in toll. Shinn has started to act like himself more, but he's still not there. Miriallia on the other hand….

"Well, I'm just saying Cags, that you _do_ like him and that your feelings could get stronger."

Ugh. Her diagnostics sucked. "Miriallia, I do hope you don't become a doctor, you're diagnostics _suck_."

Her mouth hung open. "How rude! And I'm not planning to become a doctor thank you very much! I'm planning to become a professional _photographer_."

"Photographer eh? Well it does seem to suit you…Seeing as you cling to your camera to dear life," Shinn commented.

"Hey! I had a reason to! Did you see those crazy Neanderthals moshing around like there was no tomorrow? I almost dropped my three-hundred digital camera to the ground where there were millions of feet waiting to destroy it!" she defended.

He gave her a dull look. "That's what concerts _are_—moshing and crowd-surfing."

All the while of them discussing her obsession for her camera, we had reached English class. I was starting to get nervous all of a sudden and my stomach was jittery with butterflies.

I took deep breathes and told myself to calm down. It was just English class after all. Pft. Yeah right. English class with a really hot teacher who I might be strongly crushing on (along with the dozens upon dozens of other girls who drooled over him).

I didn't have to open the door though; Miriallia gladly did it for me. As I looked up, I saw Mr. Zala look up from his desk; his hand to his face, as if rubbing it out of frustration.

I tore my gaze from him as I quickly made my way to my seat.

"Hey Mr. Zala! How was your break?"

I heard him chuckle, low, and masculine like. God.

"It was alright."

"Did you spend it with anyone? Friends? Family? _Significant other_?"

My ears perked up at this, unintentionally (Not intentionally!). I could hear the pause and then…

"No, no significant other, and no family or friends; I spent the break by myself."

"Oh how sad! How come?"

"Because I needed it," he laughed.

"Well, I think that's pretty lonely, don't you think Cagalli?"

I looked up. Fucking Miriallia, always dragging me into things I don't want to go into. I swallowed as I looked at Mr. Zala. His gaze was smothering.

"Yeah,"—I cleared my throat—"It sounds lonely."

He looked at me before looking away at his desktop again.

As class started, I couldn't help but notice the conflict in his eyes as he glanced at me ever so often (but he glanced at other people too, including Shinn). And surprisingly enough….Meyrin didn't make a smart-ass comment at all…Maybe…Something _was_ up. Hmm…I'd have to be on my guard now.

"Shinn, can you explain what the character in the play meant?"

Shinn rolled his eyes as he looked at the book (he wasn't looking too happy, I wouldn't either if I was called on for more than once to answer a question).

"Uhh, he basically meant that he wanted to have the forbidden fruit—the King's wife—even though he knew it was wrong. He implies that he'll defy the law and all reason and take her because his carnal desire and passion for her were far stronger than he could've imagined."

Mr. Zala nodded in satisfaction. "Very well said Shinn,"—he looked out at the class—" Now, can anyone tell me, what it shows about the knight hm?" he scanned the room.

"Meyrin? Can you explain his characteristics?"

She blinked as she looked into the book—her face was turning beet red (out of embarrassment or the fact that Mr. Zala was staring at her I couldn't tell). "Uhh, his characteristics are that he's arrogant, naïve, likes to underestimate things, and is sometimes impulsive but sensitive at the same time."

"Good, and can anyone tell me about the King's wife?"

"Cags," Miriallia hissed.

I looked at her. "What?"

"I have to tell you my second part of the diagnostic…"

I rolled my eyes. "Diagnostic my ass! You're just bullshitting it all."

She looked appalled. "Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Fine! You don't want my help? Then whatever, I just _know_ what I'm talking about, unlike_ you_."

"Wha--? I _so_ do know what I'm talking about!" I was caught up in the conversation that I didn't feel all eyes on me, until…

"Cagalli, after class."

I looked up and rolled my eyes. "Whatever," I muttered (damn, no, no, no, no!).

_Damn_ Miriallia for talking to me. But I suppose it was also my fault, but I'm too stubborn to admit it; cause that's just me, stubborn and hard-headed Cagalli Hibiki.

"Oooo, looks like someone got in trouble by the hot English teacher," Miriallia hissed.

I turned to look at her. "Suck it Miriallia!"

"And you're still talking Cagalli?"

I looked up to see Mr. Zala quirk an eyebrow at me. I blushed and sank into my chair even more. I was so mortified.

"Sorry Mr. Zala, I'll shut up now."

I heard the class snicker. Damn them all to hell.

As soon as the bell rung I sighed. I wouldn't be like the rest of my classmates; running out to their freedom.

"Well, call me or text me when you get out hon. Bye!"

"Fucking Miriallia," I muttered as she shot me her smug grin.

Shinn just shrugged his shoulders and walked away. I knew that was his signature well-sucks-for-you move. Ugh.

This is so not fair! Why must I get detained when I wasn't the one who was talking most of the time? Why not her!

I turned my attention back to my scratched up desk; glaring at it even though it was innocent.

Mr. Zala cleared his throat as he walked toward the door and closed it (once everyone was out). Or…Wait…W-was he _locking_ it?!

I blinked rapidly trying to comprehend what I was seeing.

He turned to look at me and walked to my desk. Holy hell, my heart was thudding so loudly I was sure he could hear it. And my stomach was releasing a mad amount of butterflies, and my legs wouldn't stop trembling.

He sighed as he stood in front of me. "Cagalli, we need to talk."

Oh shit.

"Uhm, a-about what?"

His green eyes held a battle within, as if he was tiredly trying to suppress a strong emotion that was trying to control him. He blinked and walked away from my desk. He was shaking his head, as if telling himself no to something, but what?

I slowly stood up and followed him to the front of the class. "Mr. Zala? Is everything alright? Is it my grades? Or is it something more serious?"

"No, no, it's…" he turned his head to look back at me," It's just that…"

I nodded my head, trying to encourage him to continue.

He turned his whole body to fully look at me. "Cagalli, this…What…" he exhaled. "This is beyond reason, forbidden," he muttered.

I blinked. "Forbidden? What's forbidden?"

He looked at me, but his _eyes_, his _eyes_ startled me. He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him.

I blinked as his lips crushed against mine. I stood there, my mind trying to compute everything, trying to make sense of everything; the way his lips felt against mine, the way he was holding my body ever so closely to his, the way I fiercely kissed him back—the way our tongues battled against each other sensuously.

So _this_ is what he meant by 'forbidden'; a teacher and student affair. Temptation is _such_ a bitch.

He pushed me to the near by desk where he proceeded in hoisting me up.

I continued to kiss him, I honestly couldn't stop! It was like an insatiable desire that I couldn't quite quench.

I placed my hands on his broad shoulders and he placed his hands on the small of my back.

Somewhere in between the heavy-duty kissing (no joke, it really was heavy) common sense clicked. I pulled away from his lips and pushed him back gently. Holy effigin hell. Did I just make out with the hot twenty-one year old teacher?

I looked up at him; my breath came out in pants. His eyes were glazed over, as if he wasn't really thinking but just acting on impulse. He looked down at me.

"Cagalli, I'm so sorry, it's just that…I…I don't know what came over me…" he let go of me and stepped back. He looked down without giving me another glance.

I couldn't find what to say. What did someone say after they made out with their teacher? Why wasn't there a book on this sort of thing?! So I did what everyone did, a basic instinct--I ran. I jumped off the desk, grabbed my bag, and walked to the door—my face looking down.

"Cagalli, wait…"

But I ignored him. I ran, ran out of his classroom and out of the school area. Not once did I look back, not _once_.

* * *

**Yay! Athrun and Cagalli make out. **_**Finally**_** eh? Lol. Well yeah, after writing this, I have unlocked more scenes between the teacher and the student! And not to mention some delicious twists (only like one or maybe two…?) that I've already thought about. So ya! **

**Also, I thought about it, but I don't think I'll finish the story before New Year's. I'll update, but I don't think I'll be finishing it by then (work and life are going to get in the way). The latest I'll finish it by (estimated guess!) is by mid-January or Late-January (hopefully). **

**And some of you have been asking about how Athrun got attracted to Cagalli in the first place…Patience. I'm going to have a chapter (New Year's chapter! Or was it x-mas…?) Where they talk and then he spills everything…And this is where I'm going to write a twist in how they met years before now (hehehehe…). **

**And with that, I'm off. Oh, by the way, did the last scene seem familiar to you guys?**


	8. Confession, Assault, and Feelings

**Wicked Temptation**

**"**

**Chapter 7:**** Confession, Assault, and Feelings**

**"**

"Cagalli? What's wrong? You've hardly touched your food," Lacus's voice sounded full of concern.

I just played around with my green peas and shrugged my shoulders. "I'm just tired," I muttered. Lie.

"Oh, well, alright then."

I could feel someone's eyes on me, and I could bet that it was Kira.

"Cagalli." Yep. Bingo. Hit the jack pot.

I looked up at him. I guess I should excuse myself since I wasn't really hungry (that and I didn't want to hear the patronizing and answer questions).

"I'm not very hungry, may I be excused?"

Kira, Lacus, and Stella looked at me. I looked at them back indifferently; really, I was in an indescribable mood.

Kira sighed as he dropped his gaze to his food. "Yeah, sure."

I nodded as I grabbed my plate but—

"Cagalli, it's alright. I'll take care of it."

I looked at Lacus and meekly smiled. "Thanks Lacus, I owe you a day's worth of cleaning."

She just nodded and resumed eating her food.

I left the dining room and headed to my room where I proceeded to throw myself onto my bed. I burrowed my face into my fluffy satin pillow as I closed my eyes and listened to the stillness of the night.

I had some major thinking and deciding to do. But it wasn't about Lunamaria or her threats, no; those seemed insignificant compared to what happened to me earlier. What I was really stuck on was the kiss I shared with Mr. Zala. I didn't….I didn't know what came over me. I mean, yeah, okay, so Miriallia (and that little voice inside my head that I kept ignoring for the past weeks) were right; I _did_ like Mr. Zala. And, to my dismay—due to the fact that I kissed him back—I suppose that I liked him a lot. Which really, really, really sucked because: 1.) he is an adult and I am a minor and 2.) He's the teacher, I'm the student. Student-teacher affairs are big no-no's in school.

I growled as I put my hands on top of my head. This sucked. I liked him, but at the same time….I couldn't…I _wouldn't_ allow myself to like him. Things could come out disastrously if I did…I mean….If we…

I looked up and stared at my white wall. What the hell made me think that he liked me back? And what made me think that we would be an item? _What the hell is wrong with me?! _

I grabbed my pillow and threw it at the wall in frustration. School would suck like a mother in two days. Oh what fucking joy.

"So Cags, what happened after school yesterday?"

I gasped as I pulled my vitamin water drink away from me and pounded lightly on my chest to prevent myself from choking. That was unexpected. I finally stopped coughing (for like a straight minute or so) and looked up. They were all staring at me. Oops.

"I'm sorry," I coughed, "What?"

Miriallia narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she stared at me. "I said, what happened after school yesterday with Mr. Zala?"

"Oh, that?" I gave off a small laugh. "Well, he wanted to give me a warning for talking too much in class, that's all."

And he wanted to completely confuse me…Which he most definitely succeeded in doing!

She sighed. "Is that all Cags? I thought you did more than that…"

My eyes widened as I felt my face start to burn up. Did she know? "Uh…W-what do you mean by 'more than that'?"

"Well, if _I _was alone with Mr. Zala, I would've pounced his ass and done oh so—"

"Alright, enough! Godamnit! Just hearing girls gush about him in _every_ class is starting to annoy me!" Auel whined.

I just looked at him while Miriallia shrugged. I blinked as I glanced at Shinn—he was wearing a scowl.

I wanted to ask him what was wrong…But…Things haven't been so…So….Well, they've just been rather _off_. It's like he's changed or something. Maybe he was hiding something? That must be it. What other explanation could there be?

Well anyways, I think that maybe time will help—or whatever. Things just aren't looking so good right now. And to be quite honest, I don't know if they will for a while or not.

I sighed as I exchanged my Chemistry binder with my English stuff. Miriallia wasn't here today; she 'supposedly' couldn't make it to school because she was 'sick'. Ch, sick my ass. I bet the dumb git just wanted to go pick up Tolle from the airport (seeing as he was coming back from his trip to Australia or something).

Thus leaving me in my current position; alone, alone, and alone. Well, I still had Auel and Shinn, but like I've said before….It feels…_Awkward._ I totally blame this crap on Lunamaria. Fucking whore ruined everything.

I blinked as I felt something (someone) towering over me. I looked up and turned around sharply.

"Yuna!"

He smugly grinned as he closed the gap, resting his hands on either side of my face and leaning his face close to me.

I cringed as I leaned back against the locker.

"Yo Cagalli, how've you been?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Wouldn't you like to know? What the hell do you want?"

"What I want?"—he brought his right hand to the loose locks of my hair that spilled over my shoulder and fingered them—"Is answers Cagalli, _answers_."

I arched an eyebrow questioningly. "Answers to what exactly?"

"Is it true that…"—he looked up at me, his eyes fierce—"That you and Shinn are going out?"

What the—"What is it to you if we are or aren't? I don't owe you any goddamn explanations. You don't _own me_."

Who the hell did he think he was? Fucking cocky audacious bastard!

He only gave a slight 'hn' before claiming my lips with his.

My eyes widened as he stuck his tongue into my mouth. _Oh my fucking god!!!!!! Ew!!!!!!_! I gripped the flaps of his jacket and tried to push him away.

He responded by grabbing my waist and pushing his body against mine so that I was sandwiched in between him and the lockers.

I could feel his slimy….Oh god…I think I felt myself throw up a little. I put my hands on his chest and roughly pushed him away.

He staggered a couple of inches away and looked at me, his breathing heavy.

I glared at the son of a bitch as I wiped my mouth tersely. "What the fuck is _wrong with you_?! You fucking, ugh! Disgusting!"

He only grinned at me, then, he grabbed my arm and pulled me to him, trying to kiss me again.

He tried, but he didn't succeed. I slapped him across the face so hard that I could hear the slap itself. Whoa.

"Don't you ever, and I mean _ever_, try to do that again you fucking barbaric animal! You conceded son of a bitch! How dare you try and—and—and—" I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. Honestly, had he no respect?!

He only stood up straight, his hand on his raw and swollen cheek, and stared at me.

I looked at him, throwing death glares his way. He merely laughed, amused at something I couldn't see.

"You know Cagalli, you _will_ be mine. Because what I want, I _always_ get," his hand dropped to his side and started to walk past me, but he stopped at my side. "And I will have you, whether I have your consent or not."

My eyes widened as I turned to look at him. "Are you suggesting _rape_ you incredulous bastard?!"

He shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner. "I never suggested anything, all I did was tell you what I wanted and that I will get it," –he shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked away—"See you around, Cagalli."

I stood there, my feet planted in their place as I blinked, trying to decipher what he meant. Because…If he meant what I think he meant…Then…

"Cagalli, is everything all right?"

I snapped my head up. "Auel…"

He walked up to me and picked up my binder and book that I had dropped. Man, I didn't even notice them.

He gave them to me. "Here."

I blinked as I looked down at his outstretched hand and at him. "Uh, thanks. I didn't notice that I dropped them." I grabbed them and clutched them to my chest. Things were _so screwed up_!

"Cagalli…What exactly did gorilla-butt say to you?"

I blinked as I looked up at him. "Uh, nothing, why?"

He blinked as he looked away. His lips were set in a straight thin line. He was _serious. _Auel was almost _rarely_ serious. And when he was…Well…It was _odd. _

God I just felt like curling up into a little ball and let the darkness swallow me up into a void of nothingness. Maybe then I wouldn't feel like I do: depressed, sad, alone….I just knew how to fuck things up. First Shinn, then me almost pushing Miriallia away, then the whole thing with Lunamaria (which I'm still wondering what will happen…), then the what not with Mr. Zala, and now _Auel_? God, just kill me if I make people's lives miserable.

"Auel…?"

He looked at me, as if he was pulled out of deep thought.

"I'm worried Cagalli…"

I tilted my head. "Worried? About what? About what he said? You don't have to…I know how to protect myself you know."

He frowned at me. "_That's_ what I'm worried about Cagalli; your cocky attitude. You get too cocky and carried away and you think you're so untouchable…But you're not! You have no idea of what he can do!"

My mouth was slightly agape. "Just where the hell is this coming from?! I'm not cocky!"

"Yes, you are. You're cocky when it comes to people challenging you Cagalli," he sighed. "Look, please, just don't go up against him. You don't know what he can do. Look, I've been hearing some rumors about him…And…Well… "

"Rumors? How many times have I heard rumors and—"

"He's raped a girl before Cagalli."

My words died in my mouth as I froze. He's _what_? I stared at Auel and then stared at the pavement. He's raped a girl before? Hmm, that would explain the undeniable confidence that I saw in his eyes. But even so…

Auel sighed. "Look Cagalli, you're my friend. I'm worried what that bastard will do, especially after I've heard things."

I looked up at him.

He looked away as he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I've been hearing that he's upset over the whole you and Shinn 'dating' thing, and that he and a few of his buddies are going to rough Shinn up."

"Shinn? But he hasn't even done anything!"

"Except pretend to go out with you," he pointed out.

I frowned. "Damnit! Why does life have to blow so much!"

I stood there, the grip on my binder and book tightening as I glared at the ground. Now what? Now what would I do? And Shinn hasn't even talked to me since the other day. Could it be…Could it be that Yuna already got to him? I glanced at my plain watch on my right wrist. Good, I still have a solid fifteen minutes before I have to go to my sixth period class.

"Thanks Auel, and, I'm sorry that things have been so tense in the group."

He blinked. "Cagalli, what are you planning on do…ing?"

I hugged him tighter. God, I'm so glad I have good friends (even though things don't look so stable right now).

"Thanks a ton." I let go of him and stepped back. "See ya tomorrow!" I waved at him as I power-walked to my destination: Shinn Asuka.

I threw open the door to the instrument room—it seems my intuition was correct.

"Shinn, I need to talk to you."

He looked up from the electric guitar, his eyes cold. "What is it?"

I flinched at the coldness of his voice. Why was he being so mean? I mean, I haven't done anything.

"Why…Why are you so distant all of a sudden? Was it because of what Lunamaria did to Miriallia and said to me? Because if that's the case…Then you don't have to worry! It's not a big d—"

"It's not about that!" he snapped. His red eyes were icy cold; they weren't warm or cool like before. There was something off about them…Something, _different_.

"Then, what is it? Why are you…Acting so different all of a sudden?"

He glared at me before returning to strumming the guitar.

I gulped as I neared him. "Shinn, answer me damnit! Why won't you tell me! I thought we were friends!"

I noticed that his grip on the guitar tightened as the word friends. I glanced at my watch again—I only had ten minutes. Shit.

"Shinn, please, _please_ tell me what's wrong!" I pleaded.

He looked up at me and stood up. He turned his back to me as he put the guitar back in its case. "You wanna know what's wrong?"

I narrowed my eyes at his back. "Yes."

He snorted. "Fine, but let me warn you…"he narrowed his red eyes, "You won't like it."

My eyes widened immensely. "What is it?" Before I could react at all, he grabbed me and smashed his lips against mine.

My eyes shifted as I stared at him wide-eyed. I stood there frozen. What…What was he…?

He pulled away after a couple of seconds and looked at me in the eyes. "I still like you Cagalli…"

My breathe hitched as I stared at him back. Oh. My. God. What?

I shook my head as I pulled away from him. "Shinn, what are you _saying_? You don't like me! The other day you said you liked someone else!"

He just stood in the same spot, his arms crossed over his chest.

I looked at him, frightened, shaken, and confused as fucking hell. "Shinn, say something…Anything…This is just…It's….Too…Much…"

"But that kiss with our English teacher wasn't, was it?"

I looked at him. "What?"

"You heard me," he sauntered until he stood in front of me. "I saw you Cagalli, you and Zala."

"B-But how? I mean…It's not…"

"Not what it looks like?" he scoffed. "Please. Feed your bullshit to someone else. I saw the both of you," he glared at me. "I was going to leave but decided to wait for you. I walked back to the class but the door was locked. So I decided to look in through the window and that's when I saw you."

My heart was thumping loudly. My whole being broke into a cold sweat. I licked my lips (that were suddenly dry) and cleared my throat.

"A-Are you going to tell?" my voice cracked.

He glared at me, a smirk gracing his lips. "You'd like to know, would you?" he exhaled angrily. He walked away from me and grabbed his bag from beside the guitar case. He walked past me without saying another word and stopped in front of the door.

"No."

"Huh?"

He glanced at me. "I won't tell. But don't forget what I told you also. I like you Cagalli, and, I know you like him and he could possibly like you…But just think about it…" he pushed the door open and walked out.

I felt like such a life-ruiner. I dropped to the ground, clutching my books as I bent my head down and shut my eyes closed. Goddamnit, where's Miriallia when I really need her?

All in all, life was pretty shitty right now. And if that wasn't enough, to add the nice cherry on fucking top, here I was, in Mr. Zala's class—two days after we made out.

"You're late Hibiki."

I looked down. "Sorry," I mumbled. I walked past him and headed to my desk. As soon as I sat down, I put my head on my desk. I just didn't want to be here right now. I didn't even want to put my head up. What would be the point? All I would be staring at would be Mr. Zala and/or Shinn.

The class went by mildly fast. I didn't even pay attention to the lecture. As soon as the bell rang, I grabbed my stuff solemnly and headed out the door. But—

"Cagalli, wait a minute, I need to talk to you."

I turned to look at Mr. Zala who was leaning against the front of his desk, his arms folded across his chest. I just stared at him dully.

"Yes, Mr. Zala." I saw Shinn grab his stuff and start to leave.

As he walked past me, he glanced at me, his jealously and anger undeniably raw, and looked away as he walked out of the class. I was such a bitch…And I don't know for what….But I felt like one.

I turned my gaze back at Mr. Zala (I'm pretty sure he saw the glance between Shinn and I).

He sighed as he leaned away from the desk and stood in front of me. This time, he didn't lock the door. "Cagalli…About the other day…"

My face became flush. Damnit, he made me feel things I shouldn't feel right now because…Because everything was so shitty! I felt so relieved, so warm, so fuzzy, so…So care-free. It's like he lifted off my worries with just his look, his voice, his anything! And I so shouldn't be feeling like this right now. But…I can't help it.

"Ah, what, what exactly happened that day?" I stuttered.

He looked at me as he sighed. "What happened, what happened was something that should never, _ever_, repeat itself again."

I nodded solemnly. Just what I was telling myself the other night. How was I so sure that he liked me? And now I knew the answer: he didn't.

"Cagalli, what I did…That was very impulsive and foolish of me. I shouldn't have done it. I'm an adult, you're a minor. I'm your teacher, you're my student. If anyone ever found out about it…" he trailed off as he rubbed his face with both his hands.

"There would be dire consequences," I mumbled. And I knew it already; he didn't have to tell me.

He looked at me; he had an apologetic smile on his face. But was that apology for him or for me? I wasn't sure.

"Yes, there would be severe consequences."

I inhaled as I gripped my books tighter. "Well, I'll be sure not to tell anyone about it," I walked away from him and was stopped at the door by him.

"Cagalli, I…I am truly sorry about it."

I looked at the door handle, my eyes were glassy. Not as much as _I'm_ sorry.

He let go of my wrist and stepped back.

I blinked as I pushed open the door and left.

"Miss? The library will be closing in three minutes."

I looked up at the librarian. "Oh, sorry about that."

She gave me a motherly-like smile. "It's okay; at least you finished your homework."

I gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I did."

She nodded as she walked to her desk and I closed my Chemistry textbook.

I gave a small sigh as I scooted away from the table and grabbed my bag. I pushed the seat back in and left the library.

I was met with a small gust of December-like wind. Great. It would be snowing in a week or three. Maybe more (seeing as it was the first week of December already). I shivered as I made my way to the school exit.

It was then that I was walking down the street that led me away from school that the blissful haze of my studying was lifted. And all hell came crashing down upon me.

My eyes watered as I thought back to what Mr. Zala had said. It would never happen again. Never. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my gray hoodie as I nuzzled my neck more into the neckline of it. It was starting to get really cold now that the sun was going down.

I didn't want to be depressed, sad, or bummed about it. Honestly, I didn't. But I just couldn't' fight it. It was a war that I would never be able to win. Did I love him? No, it couldn't be. I barely met the guy a while ago. Why the hell was I thinking about love?

I snickered as I wiped the couple of tears the escaped my eyes with my sleeve. Ridiculous. It sounded like some sort of cheesy cliché-like movie or story. Love at first sight. Ha! My ass.

I sniffled as I brushed my nose with my sleeve lightly. And then came along Shinn and his unexpected confession. Has he not heard of cautions? Or warnings? Fucking a! What the hell was he thinking coming out like that! What did he expect? Me jumping into his arms and crazily making out with him and that we'd live happily-ever-fucking-after? I think not!

I looked up at the already darkening sky. I could see the puffs of white smoke from my breath. He just…I just don't know what to think of him after what he said. I mean yeah, okay, after we broke up, I still had feelings for him; but those feelings went away after two years. I don't have any romantic feelings for him at all anymore. I just see him as one of my best friends. But yet he…

I shook my head as I looked down. I think I should probably distance myself from him for a while, or at least show him or try to talk him out of liking me. Because quite frankly, I'm no good; honestly, I suck because I make everyone's life miserable.

I kicked a pebble as I crossed the crosswalk. It was so quiet and peaceful around this neighborhood. I looked up and noticed that I was walking rather slowly (the stop sign was about eight blocks away). I looked back down again as my eyes narrowed.

And then there was Yuna. Jesus-fucking-christ. I was so snappish at Auel….I sighed. The whole thing about Yuna raping a girl…It seemed plausible…But did he really? I mean, if one thought about it, wouldn't it cause a great scandal for his father? After all, his father is a politician. But then, that also bothered me.

It bothered me because, if Yuna did in fact rape the girl, then wouldn't his father have the power to pull a few strings and cover it up? So, the chances of him doing that…Seemed _very_ plausible…

I jumped at the sound of my ring tone. My heart thudded as I chuckled at myself. I reached into my bag and pulled out my razor.

"Hello?"

"Cagalli, where are you? It's already five-thirty."

Was it really? I glanced at my watch. Holy effigin hell; it really was five-thirty.

"Sorry Kira, I didn't know what time it was. I was at the library doing my Chemistry homework and receiving tutorial for math."

I heard him chuckle.

"That's just like you Cagalli; math was never your strongest point in academics."

"Hey! Did you just call me to lecture me?"

"No, you're right, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, I bet you are," I muttered. I glanced behind me. I thought I heard footsteps behind me…

"Cagalli?"

"Hm?"

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Wha…? No, you're at work. I don't want to bother you."

"It's okay. I'm almost out anyways."

"No Kira. You're at work, be responsible you idiot!"

He laughed. "Alright then, but just hurry on home; it's getting late."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

I narrowed my eyes as I turned around. Seriously, am I hearing things or did I hear feet shuffling? Was I being followed?

"Cagalli, are you listening to me?"

I brought the phone back to my left ear. "Uh sorry, what was that Kira?"

He sighed. "I said: Lacus will be over soon and Stella's already at home. So hurry up and get your butt back over there. Understood?"

"Yes Sir!"

He laughed again. "Alright kiddo, see you soon."

"Hey! Just who the hell are you calling 'kiddo'! I'm almost legal you know!"

"In a year or so."

I growled. "Kira you make me so mad!"

"Yeah, yeah; now get home. Bye."

"Yeah, bye!"

I snapped my razor shut and shoved it into my bag again. Kiddo? Ha! There's nothing child-like about me! I continued to walk but stopped still and listened to my surroundings. Okay, honestly, I don't think I'm going insane. I swear that someone's following me…And I'm _not_ paranoid.

I looked behind me again and saw three silhouettes sauntering to where I was. Oh fuck. I turned back around and started to power-walk. As soon as I reached the closed bike shop (which by the way was very isolated and dark) I saw two silhouettes leaning against the wall of the shop.

I gave them a quick glance before starting to walk past them faster. I clenched my hands into fists. If they tried anything, I could probably knock one sucker out and I could outrun the other.

And then that's when it hit me; Auel's and Yuna's words.

_"You know Cagalli, you _will_ be mine; because what I want, I always get…And I will have you, whether I have your consent or not."_

_"I'm worried what that bastard will do, especially after I've heard things_._"_

_"You get too cocky and carried away and you think you're so untouchable…But you're not! You have no idea of what he can do!"_

I gasped as the silhouettes leaned away from the wall and started to move towards me. This wasn't a coinecidence. My being followed, it was all planned.

_"I've been hearing that he's upset over the whole you and Shinn 'dating' thing, and that he and a few of his buddies are going to rough Shinn up."_

And what Auel said about Yuna and his friends roughing Shinn up, it wasn't meant for him….

It was meant for _me_.

"Grab her!"

I broke into a sprint. My heart was thudding so loud I could hear it in my ears. I could also feel the adrenaline pumping through me and the butterflies in my stomach. I no longer cared if I was cold or not, all I cared about was escaping before the other three people (who I assumed where Yuna and his other friends) came and cornered me.

But where do I go? The crossing of the street was at least five blocks away! I turned in the direction of the school. Surely, surely someone had to be there. Anyone! Any teacher still had to be in their classes grading papers right?

"She's heading your way!"

I looked up and saw that the three silhouettes that were following me earlier were getting ready to chase me. Aw fuck, I should've listened! I should've listened to Auel! And oh my god why didn't I just let Kira pick me up?! Now I'm stuck in this deep shit.

I dodged one of the guys that lounged at me. I heard him curse under his breath as he stood in the middle of the street to wait for the other two.

I continued to run and couldn't see the other two that were with him. It didn't matter though, because I could see the lights of the school. I was almost there! I sped up and ran…But I guess that was my mistake.

I yelped as I was pushed down to the ground. My bag fell to the ground and my hair spilled over my shoulder. I groaned as I propped myself up with my right hand, my left hand on my right shoulder blade.

"Cagalli, look at you all dirtied up. That's not very lady-like."

My eyes widened at the voice. "Yuna…"

He grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up.

I struggled against him, thrashing my legs and hands, hitting him so that he could let me go.

He ignored me as he continued to walk. He threw me into a car, the door already open.

"Yuna you fucking bastard! What the fuck do you think--!"

"Shut up!" he pointed the sharp-edged knife at me.

I looked at him, glaring, as I tried to formulate a way out.

He leaned his head out of the car and straightened.

I looked around to see if no one was blocking my exits…Life didn't like me very much. Guarding each door were his friends—four of them. I felt my hope die within me.

But wait; didn't I have my cell phone? Yes! I could call Kira and—and—my smile crumbled as I reached to the floor only to find emptiness. I didn't have my bag…

"Guard the doors. I won't be long."

I gulped as he got into the car. No, no, no, no! I won't…I won't let him!

"Now Cagalli, I promise I'll be gentle…"

I slapped him across the face. "You sick bastard! You did, didn't you?! You raped a girl!"

He turned his head to me, his smile wicked. "Yes, I did. And that's what I'm about to do to you." He grabbed my legs and forced them apart.

I yelled as I thrashed my legs and slammed my fists on his back.

He growled as he slapped me. "You'll take it like the slut you are!" I pulled out his pocketknife and ripped open my hoddie.

I whimpered as I heard the material rip. I felt tears trickle down the corners of my eyes. Would I really…Be defiled…Like this?

"That's a good girl. There's no use escaping, there's no way out," he leaned his head to my neck where he started to kiss me. His hands grabbed a hold of my shirt and forced it open, the buttons flying everywhere.

I shut my eyes tighter as I felt him fondle my breasts. I needed to find a way out, but how?! I opened my eyes to see him holding my legs apart with both his hands…But where was his knife? I glanced at the ground and saw it glinting in the moonlight. I had an idea.

"Yuna…"

He looked up at me. "Yes, Cagalli?" he purred.

I pushed him off of me and forced him to lie on the seat while I straddled him. "You're right you know…"

He grinned. "About what?"

I leaned my head down to his left ear and gripped the knife with my right hand. "Of me wanting to kill you!" I yelled as I raised the knife above my head.

Yuna's eyes widened. "Fucking crazed bitch!" He pounded on the window which promptly opened, and he tumbled outside before I could stab him.

I looked around me wildly. I had to move fast. I grabbed my ripped hoodie and stumbled out of the car through the opposite side that Yuna fell out of. There was no one guarding the right side of the car, they were too preoccupied with Yuna. I landed on the sidewalk and immediately broke into a sprint. I glanced at the road and saw my bag lying there. It would be risky but….

"Grab her you idiots! Grab her before she gets away!"

I snatched my bag as I sprinted past it. There was no room for mistakes right now; it was either do or die.

I panted as I ran, the icy wind hitting my face at full blast. The school was a block away!

"You little whore! Get back here!"

I yelled as I fell to the ground again. I turned around to see that one of the guys had grabbed my ankle.

"Let go you stupid fuck!" I kicked him in the face and he howled in pain. As I scrambled up to my feet, I was pretty sure I broke his nose.

I continued to run until I entered the school parking lot. I bent over, resting my hands on my knees, and as I gasped for air. Had I lost them?

"There she is!"

"Fuck!" I cried. I ran into the school entrance and panicked—they had already brought down the gate! I looked around me, trying to find another entrance, and just as I found one, they had gained up on me.

"Cagalli, I'm so disappointed in you."

"I bet your ass you are Yuna! You didn't think that I actually wanted you did you?!"

He shrugged. "It doesn't matter what you want…All that matters is what _I _want."

"Wow, shows that you're fucking spoiled huh?"

"Well, when you have a politician as a father…"

One of the guys was inching close to me. "Stay back or I swear I'll fucking slit your throat!"

He tensed and stared at me.

I brought the knife in front of me as I moved to the other entrance that was to the far left. My eyes shifted as I looked at every one of them. I clutched my hoodie tighter to my chest.

Two more moved.

"I said stay the fuck away!"

Yuna narrowed his eyes at me. "You can run Cagalli, but you won't be able to escape."

"Oh really? Watch me!" I threw my hoddie and bag over the small blue fence that blocked the entry way to the C-buildings of the school. I planted my foot on the bar, gripped the top, and hoisted myself up.

I glanced behind me and saw that Yuna and two other guys were waiting for me to jump, but where were the other two? I jumped, landing on my feet, and snatched my hoodie and bag. I was readying myself to run but—

"Told you; you aren't escaping Cagalli." Yuna pushed me against the wall, his hands creating shackles around my wrists.

I growled as I tried to pry myself away from him but he only pushed himself against me.

"Get off of me! Don't you understand that no means no! Goddamnit!"

"Relax Cagalli; it'll all be over soon."

"Go fuck yourself!" I shrieked as I knee-thrusted him in the stomach.

He pulled away, clutching his stomach, and I took this to my advantage to run—which I most certainly did.

But he grabbed my wrist and forced me to turn around.

"You're not going anywhere!" he snarled. "Grab her and tie her up if you have to!"

The other two started to move in on me. I cried as I tried to pull my wrist away from his hold, but it was to no avail. So I did what I had to…I slashed his ass.

"Fuck! My face! My cheek, she cut my cheek!"

I ran as fast as I could, praying, hoping that the one who could help me was still here.

I reached the B-building in no time, but the other two that had split up where running across the quad. I ran to the door and prayed to whoever that the door would be open…It was.

I almost cried from joy but was brought back by Yuna's hysterical yells. I threw open the door and ran down the hallway.

"Oh please let it be, oh please let it be," I cried as tears slipped down my flushed cheeks. I ran to his door and saw the light on.

I pounded on the door frantically as I saw that Yuna and his three buddies were blocking the door at the right and that the other two were blocking the door at the left. If he didn't open, I'd be so screwed over!

"Open the door!" I cried. I was gasping the whole time, almost on the verge of hyperventilating. I was going to pound on the door some more when—

"Cagalli? What's wrong? Why are you--?"

I threw my arms around his waist as I finally broke down into sobs.

Mr. Zala stumbled back into the classroom. "What are you…What happened?! Why are your clothes…?"

"Please, just lock the door, don't let them in," I cried. I sounded so pathetic. I knew I was going to berate myself as soon as I got over this little ordeal.

He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me away. He walked past me and out into the hall.

"You, what the hell do you guys think you're doing here?! Don't tell me that you were the ones…"

"And so what if we were? I don't owe _you_ an explanation!" I heard Yuna say.

I looked up, all the tears finally halting (if only for the moment), and walked behind Mr. Zala. I glanced at Yuna and saw him glaring at him.

Mr. Zala's hands clenched into fists. "If you don't leave right now, I swear I'll either kick your asses or call the cops. It's your pick. What will you choose?!"

Yuna just stared at him before he snorted. "Whatever. I'm not in the mood anymore,"—he turned around—"Come on, we're leaving."

As he left, he glanced back at me. "This isn't over Cagalli."

I just looked away from him and tightened my grip on Mr. Zala's shirt. I felt so stupid. So, so, so stupid; I over-reacted…But I was…I was scared. I was scared, shaken, trembling, whatever it may be, but it made me cry.

I felt Mr. Zala turn around and, the next thing I knew, I felt his arms wrap around me, pulling me close to his chest.

"Are you alright Cagalli?"

"I—I think so…? I…I just feel so stupid…So ashamed," I whispered as I gripped his shirt as new tears flowed.

He tightened his embrace and held me even closer. "It's okay Cagalli, you were scared. It's alright to be afraid from time to time. You don't have to always act brave. Just let it all out. Cry until you're content."

My eyes widened at what he said. But I did it anyways, I let everything out. My shoulders shook violently as I cried.

Yes, I let everything out: Shinn's confession to me, Auel trying to warn me about Yuna and then me brushing it off, Miriallia not being here, Yuna's attempted rape on me, and the un-requited feelings that I had for Mr. Zala.

All of that was just flowing away, disappearing, if just for a bit, in my tears.

* * *

**And omigod this was bloody friggin long! (Takes deep breathe). Well I owed you guys for not updating for a week and two days…Hehehehe. So, it's no big. Hmm…I can't recall any questions I got in reviews except for one.**

**Shiloah18: ****Yeah, effigin is my little random word that popped into my head one day and wah-la…I'm using it. Lol.**

**And yes, to anyone who wants a question answered just ask and I'll answer it at the end of every chapter. **

**So, anyways, I'm sorry yet again that I didn't update sooner. It's just that; remember when I said I was sure that something would get in the way? Yeah, well it did. My enemy for life knocked on the door and I answered it: Writer's Block (So I basically wrote this whole thing on writer's block..So if it sounds a bit funny, that's why). **

**Plus I was sort of preoccupied with Kingdom Hearts. Has anyone played it? **

**Oh, and I finally know who to pair Auel and Meer with! AuelxOC and MeerxSting. Sweetness. HAPPY (almost)NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Next time I update, it'll be 2008 oh hell yes.**


	9. Like an Anesthetic

**Wicked Temptation**

**"**

**Chapter 8: ****Like an Anesthetic**

**"**

As soon as I had calmed down, Mr. Zala had made me sit down. My eyes were puffy, that was for sure, and I was so tired.

"Have you calmed down?"

I stiffly nodded. God, how _embarrassing_, here I was, crying my eyes out in front of the guy I was crushing on. Could I be anymore pathetic?

He sighed as he sat down at the desk next to mine. "Cagalli, I think, I think you should report this."

I shook my head as I wiped my nose. "No, I can't do that."

"Why not? He's not going to hurt you if that's what you're afraid of,"—he paused as he looked away—"I'll make sure of that."

"It's not that I'm afraid," I muttered," It's the fact that even if I _do_ report him, his father will cover it up. Just like he covered up a previous rape Yuna committed."

I saw Mr. Zala's jaw tighten at this.

"He's raped a girl _before_?"

Oh yeah, there was no doubt now that he was irked as hell.

"Yeah, and the funny thing is,"—I leaned back in the desk and chuckled weakly—"That I was warned about it earlier today but I chose not to listen…Because, I'm stubborn; too stubborn for my own good unfortunately."

I tersely wiped away the new tears that started to appear. Damn tear ducts. I wish I could just have some sort of plug to stop them from leaking; friggin annoying things.

I flinched slightly as I felt him wipe away my tears. He, he was _touching_ me.

"Don't cry anymore Cagalli, what will your family think when you get home?"

My eyes widened at that. Kira! Stellar! Lacus! Oh jeez…I was going to get scolded for being late. I wiped away the tears roughly, but he grabbed my wrist. I turned my head to look at him.

"Don't do that, it'll leave redness." He stood up, letting go of my wrist, and walked to the front of his desk. He grabbed three tissues from the Kleenex box and handed them to me. "Here, use these."

I looked at him then at his outstretched hand. I grabbed the tissues and started to wipe my eyes. "Thanks," I sniffled.

"No problem."

I sat there, biting the inside of my cheek. It was awkward. He saw me at my worst, hell! He saw me crying and going through hysterics! Why did I always end up embarrassing myself in front of him? First there was the flashing. Then it was the Shinn-and-me-walking-into-class-holding-hands. And then it was the making out after class thing and now _this_? What the hell was I? Some sort of embarrassing-accidents-waiting-to- happen-magnet?

I lifted my head up at the sound of his sigh.

"It's getting late. It's almost seven, I should take you home."

"Take me home?"

He looked at me incredulously. "What? You didn't honestly think that I was going to let you go home alone did you? After what happened? I don't think so."

I blinked as I stared at him, bewildered. "Uh…."

He grabbed his black jacket. "Here, put this on,"—I looked up and he threw it at me—"Wear it, since you don't have a sweater anymore and your shirt is…Well…Er…"

I blushed furiously as I looked down; clutching my ripped shirt and holding it closed with my left hand.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"No, no; it's alight. I know."

He nodded. "Alright then, let me just grab my stuff and we'll leave."

"Okay."

Truth be told, I was curious to see his car. In fact, I was all giddy and comfortable to be spending more one-on-one time with him. That whole ordeal with Yuna seemed very insignificant right now (but I could bet that when I'm at home again or here at school tomorrow, it won't seem so insignificant).

"So…Which one's your car?"

He glanced back at me; an amused smirk on his face. He held up his keys and pressed on the alarm. A car, not too far away from us, made a noise as the taillights and headlights flashed twice.

Oh, wow. A Lexus 15 300, a black one too; cool.

He opened the passenger door for me and waited until I got in.

As soon as I did get in, he closed the door and walked to the driver's door. I took the time to adjust the sleeves of the jacket. But damnit, it smelled nice. Like some sort of cologne that had a nice sweet smell mixed in with a twist of hard smelling scent. It was kind of hard to describe…Hmm…It was kind of like Axe or Curve or Bod….

I looked up as I heard the door open. I quickly dropped my hands to my stomach and looked out the window. I adjusted my feet so that my bag was under my legs instead of in front of my feet.

He sighed as he got in and adjusted himself right in the seat. He turned on the ignition and waited for the car to warm up.

"So…"

I looked at him.

"What were you doing out so late?"

I looked down at my hands (it was way too embarrassing to look him straight in the eyes). "I was at the library since two; I was doing my Chemistry homework and getting tutorial on math when the librarian told me it was time to close."

"Ah, I see," he glanced behind him as he pulled out of the parking lot. He then turned the wheel and sped out of the parking lot.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I looked outside the window. I was inside Mr. Zala's car. Wow. And my legs were slightly trembling. Wow, can they not? It's such a buzz kill. I wanted to ask him questions….Like….How come you kissed me? And how come you offered to drive me home? Do you have a girlfriend? But no, I'm too shy at times. And this is one of those times.

"You're lucky."

"Hmm?"

"You're lucky that I was there, or else…."—his grip tightened on the steering wheel—"Well, that punk would've had his way."

"Oh…."—I looked down at my lap—"What were you doing at school so late anyways?"

Oops. I just blurted out my thoughts. _Nice_.

"Well, I was grading papers. I really didn't want to take them home and have to deal with them all there—I'd get easily distracted. So I decided to grade them in the classroom."

"Lucky for me then eh?" I gave a small short lived laugh.

"Which reminds me…" he shot me an amused look.

"Yes?"

"Why did you come to my classroom?"

I blinked. Good question; _why_ had I come to his classroom first? Why didn't I pound on nearby classrooms to see if they were still open? Why his?

The answer was plain for me to see, but not for him (And I wouldn't let it be seen by him). So I lied.

"Well, because…The other classrooms were empty. And the B building area had lights on. And since yours was the only one with the lights on on the bottom floor, I decided to head to yours first since….Well…They were on my trail."

"I see," he stepped on the brakes and we stopped in front of a red light.

I glanced at him and then out the window; it was already dark. I gave a small subtle sigh. I wonder what Kira would say when I got home. Would he lecture and patronize me? And then scold me? Or will he shoot off questions as to why I'm wearing someone else's jacket instead of my own gray hoodie?

I touched my left cheek and winced. It still stung.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, um, nothing's wrong."

"Did he _slap_ you?"

I looked away from him and said nothing. Yeah, Yuna had slapped me, and I could be sure as hell that it'll still be red by the time I get home(or maybe not, but then again, that's just wishful thinking…And a little wishful thinking doesn't hurt anyone, right?).

"Cagalli, did he slap you?" he repeated.

Silence answered him for me.

The car started to move and instead of heading down the road like we should have, he instead drove into the parking lot of Longs-Drugs. He parked perfectly into place and turned off the car.

I looked at him, my eyes narrowed in confusion.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned on the lights. Just what the hell was he doing?

"Let me see."

I blinked as he leaned over, his face close to mine, and his hands turning my head to the side a little bit. I heard him curse under his breath.

"Um, is something wrong?"

"Yeah, something's wrong," he scoffed.

I turned my head to look at him. "Well? What is it? Is it that bad?"

He frowned. "Well, not bad per se, but really red. It looks like it has a slight possibility of swelling up." His hand gently brushed over it, examining it.

I averted my eyes from his face. God he was so hot, and so close. I could smell his cologne strongly now. Aw great! My mind's starting to get into the gutter now.

"Well…"

I looked up at him. Our eyes met. I stared at him for what seemed like forever when in actuality, it was only a couple of seconds.

He cleared his throat as he looked away, his hands leaving my slapped cheek, and adjusted himself in the seat. He buckled his seat belt and turned on the ignition.

I looked down, my face was hot. That was somewhat intense….

And then, my stomach growled. Ugh. Great. I forgot that I hadn't eaten anything since this morning, and with the whatnot with Shinn, and then the whole Yuna thing...I had forgot that I was extremely hungry when I was walking home. I wrapped my arms around my stomach, hoping that maybe it'd shut the hell up. But to my dismay, he had heard it.

I looked up at the sound of his laughter. I narrowed my eyes at him in the darkness. "What's so funny?"

He continued to chuckle as he pulled out of the store's parking lot. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm not hungry." But my _stupid_ stomach proved me wrong. Oh yeah, I could feel myself blushing (again).

He chuckled again. "You're hungry aren't you? Did you eat anything at break or something?"

I shook my head. "No, I only ate breakfast."

"Hmm, that's not much. I'll tell you what, you call home and tell them that you're okay and that you'll be home soon. And I'll take you out to dinner, deal?"

My eyes widened. "Uwah, um, no! That's okay! I mean, you don't have to bother yourself or anything!"

"Nonsense, I want to take you out to dinner."

"But, but I don't have any money on me."

"It's my treat then."

"But I don't want to be a bother…"

"It's not a bother. I'm hungry too, so it's like killing two birds with one stone right?"

I thought about it. Hmmm, I was hungry…Extremely so….I _guess_ it wouldn't hurt. What were the chances of us being seen by someone from school? None. Zero. Zip.

"Alright."

He grinned. "Where do you want to go? It's your choice."

I mused about it. "How about….."

"Hello, welcome to Carrows, will it be a table for two?"

Mr. Zala nodded at the waitress wordlessly. She nodded, grabbed two menus, and led us to the back side of the restaurant where it wasn't as crowded as the front side.

I pulled the sleeves over my fingers; self-conscious was very evident in my little move. I looked around me while I followed the waitress and Mr. Zala. Oh boy. Here I was. In a public place. With him. Just me…And him. Me and him. Him and me. Alone. Just the two of us. Yep. Oh my effigin god. It's just the two of us, like….Like if we were on a d—

"Cagalli?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked down; he was sitting inside of the booth. My cheeks burned with embarrassment as I quickly sat down (So embarrassing).

"Here you are,"—the waitress placed the menus in front of us—"I'll be back momentarily to take your orders." She flashed a warm smile at Mr. Zala, something that she probably didn't know I caught. I scowled at her as she walked away.

Apparently, I wasn't sly enough to scowl at her without getting caught. Oi.

"Why the scowl Cagalli?"

I blinked as I looked up, surprised (for the millionth time that night) that I had been caught. "Scowling? I wasn't scowling. Who said anything about scowling?"

He shook his head as he silently chuckled. "You're not a very good liar Cagalli."

I frowned. "Whatever." I looked away and avoided eye contact throughout the whole dinner.

I excused myself (before we left) to the bathroom. I had to call Kira. I dialed his number and waited for him to pick up.

On the forth ring, he picked up.

"Cagalli?! Jesus, where the hell are you?! Do you know what time it is?!"

I cringed slightly. Kira never swore or scolded me (almost rarely) and if he did, it wasn't pretty.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry okay? It's just that I went out with a friend of mine and she invited me to go to dinner with her to a restaurant."

I heard him exhale. "What restaurant?"

"Um, Carrows?"

"Carrows? But it's half an hour away from here! Are you sure that you're with a friend?! You're not lying to me are you?!"

"No! No, I'm not lying Kira! I'm telling the truth, honest." I lowered my voice because someone had stepped into the bathroom. "Seriously, I did meet up with a friend of mine and she invited me to eat with her. Honest."

"…….."

"Kira?"

He sighed deeply. "It's eight-thirty Cagalli. You should've been home _three hours_ ago. Lacus was just about to call the police because you hadn't come home. Do you know even _remotely_, how much worry you've caused?"

See what I meant? He always knew how to hit a person hard, like real deep. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I should've called sooner but I forgot."

"Cagalli…."

"Kira, please? I called okay? And I'm safe and sound with my friend at a restaurant. In fact, she's going to drive me home. Happy?"

"…….."

"Kira…."

"Alright, but, you can't go out anymore without telling me where and who you're going out with, understood?"

I groaned. "Kira, I'm _seventeen_. Don't you think I'm a little bit old for groundings and such?"

"As long as you live with me—me who pays the bills and provides for you and Stellar—you will do as I say. Besides, you're still a minor. I don't care if you're seventeen or not. Got it? Now come home—now."

I rolled my eyes. Damn he knew how to piss me off. "Whatever, bye." I snapped my phone shut harshly, opened the bathroom stall, and stalked out of the bathroom.

Mr. Zala was already standing up, paying for the bill. He looked up and gave me an amused grin. Shit. What the hell was I? An open book?

"Someone seems mad."

"I do not."

"Then why are your eyes narrowed? And why do you have a deep set frown?"

I snapped my head up at him, my mouth ready to shoot off a counter-attack, but the words died, and my eyes widened. M-Meyrin? Oh just what I fucking needed, me jinxing myself; just excellent Cagalli, nice, real smooth.

Mr. Zala seemed to notice my expression because he looked at me rather funny. "Are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

I gasped as Meyrin turned her head my way. I froze right in the spot. If she saw me, then I'd be so _screwed_. Without thinking (acting more on impulse than anything else) I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door hastily.

"Cagalli, what on earth are you—"

I ignored him and pulled him out of the dining restaurant quickly, praying that Meyrin hadn't seen us. Once I was sure that we were out of sight, I let out a puff of breathe. That was ridiculously close. If she had seen us, _together_, as in a _teacher_ and _student_ out in a public place _together_, then the shit would hit the fan.

It would heave its self up onto my list of horrendous things waiting me to resolve.

"Uh, er, Cagalli?"

"Hm?"

"You're still holding onto my hand…"

I blinked as I looked down slowly. Sure enough, I was holding his hand. I immediately let go of it and looked away, the blush spanning across my face. "S-Sorry," I muttered.

"Uh, it's okay. I should take you home now anyways. Judging by the look on your face before you hastily pulled me out of the diner, I'd say that the call home wasn't very good."

I shook my head, still cautious in meeting his gaze. "Nope, not even remotely close."

He chuckled. "Alright then, let's go."

The drive to the house was pretty quiet (with the exception of the humming of the car and me giving him directions). It took exactly thirty-nine minutes to get to the house because one: he got lost along the way (stupid misunderstandings) and 2: there was late traffic.

"Well, I guess this is it." I unbuckled my belt and started to open the door when—

"Cagalli, are you sure you're alright?"

I looked back at him, settling back into the seat. "Yeah, I'm okay. I mean, yeah, okay, sure, I was shaken up a couple of hours ago by what would've happened...But spending time with you eased it a little bit."

He stared at me. I could feel the tension emanating from him in the still darkness. Or was it coming from me?

"Seriously, everything's fine. I'm all good. My mentality is still intact. No damage psychologically speaking, but psychically on the other hand…"

"Let me see your cheek before you go in. I don't want you getting into trouble."

I sighed. "Honestly, I'm fine Mr. Zala, I'm all good. I'm not delicate you know, or fragile. I'm a tough girl who can handle things."

I could see the amused smirk on his face even in the darkness. I frowned. "You're getting all amused again, aren't you?"

He gave a quiet and whole-heartedly laugh. "Maybe,"—I felt his hand rest on my left cheek lightly, it felt oddly soothing—"Hmm, there's no swelling. It's just a little warm. Let me take a better look." He turned on the front light, dimly, and leaned his face close to mine to examine it. "That's good."

"What is?"

"There's no swelling and the redness is barley visible."

I smiled. "Good? That's excellent. Now I won't get pounded with a lot of questions."

"That's good to hear," he whispered.

We stayed still, just looking at each other in the eyes. I thought I was staying still, but it wasn't until I found myself unconsciously leaning in to his face that I realized I wasn't—and neither was he. The tension was so thick between us that I could've cut it with a knife or something.

And then the inevitable happened. He secured my face in between his hands as he kissed me back vigorously and I reciprocated the action back. I gripped his shoulders as I was starting to get a little light-headed. It was so wonderful, like, like nothing I have ever imagined. It was just like the first kiss we shared in the classroom, only more passionate and full of need or want. I couldn't quite place, but then again I couldn't quite place anything at the moment.

I moaned into his mouth as his hands dropped from my face to my back, pulling me more to him. My body molded into his perfectly. I placed my hands on his chest, tilting my head a little to the side.

"I'm sorry. This shouldn't have…God…."

I opened my eyes to see him pull away from me, his hands leaving my back. He shook his head as he placed his left hand to his forehead. I was speechless and dazed. I didn't know what to say because, well, to be honest…_I wasn't sorry_. Really, I really, really wasn't.

I just sat there in the passenger seat, my left leg resting on the seat and tucked behind my right one and my body fully turned to him. I stared at him as he looked down, his left hand still to his forehead. He apparently thought he was the bad guy. But he wasn't—not at all.

I decided it was best to just leave; I didn't want to make things any worse than they already were. I sighed as I pulled on the door handle and pushed open the door. It wasn't long before I put my right foot out that I felt a tug at my right wrist which forced me to turn around.

Once again, I was met with an apologetic face. But I didn't know if he was apologizing to me, or to _himself_.

"Cagalli…I…"

"You know what? It's cool. It's alright. Honest." I pried my wrist away from his hold and started to unzip his jacket. "Here, I don't want to take it without—"

He shook his head, cutting me off. "It's okay. Keep it. You can return it to me tomorrow after school. I don't want you getting into anymore trouble than you already are."

I stared at him, my lips pressed into a thin line. "Alright, I'll stop by tomorrow and drop it off." I got out of the car and bent over, looking in. "Thanks for everything Mr. Zala; I guess I owe you or something. But, thanks though, honestly. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't in the classroom."

He gave me a half smile. "It's alright. I'm glad I could help."

I could still see the struggle in his eyes. Hate versus wanting and needing. Goddamnit, I just wish he would've given himself over to the wanting and the needing instead of responsibility and self-hate. I smiled at him as I waved.

He nodded, avoiding my eyes. I closed the door and watched him speed off. What a freaking tease. But yet….My right hand found its way to my lips. I could still feel the pressure from his lips against mine, and his hot breath.

I snapped out of my daze as I saw a light turn on abruptly. Oh shit. I jogged up the steps to the front door and opened it. I adjusted my bag and skirt as I walked in. Stellar was in the living room (probably watching her trashy surreal life shows or something), but I couldn't find Kira or Lacus.

"Hey, Stellar, where are Kira and Lacus?"

She looked up from the television screen and eyed the jacket I was wearing. A spark of curiosity appeared in her magenta eyes immediately.

"They're in the kitchen, why? And what's with that jacket Cagalli? Were you fooling around with some guy eh?"

I glared at her. "Shut up Stellar."

"Aw, come one Cagalli! Tell me! Please?"

"_No_!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's none of your business that's why."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Well then, that must surely mean that you're most certainly hiding something right?"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Fine,"—I glared daggers at her—"If you most know little miss gossiper, I was out with a friend of mine and I left my grey hoodie at school hence that jacket."

"But it looks like a guy's jacket."

I inwardly flinched. Damn her for choosing today to be so observant. "Well, you see…"

"Cagalli?!" I heart Kira for saving me.

"Yeah, where are you?"

"In the kitchen, get in here, _now_."

Oh boy. I walked over to the kitchen, gripping the strap of my handbag. I looked up and he and Lacus were sitting on the stools. They were apparently talking about something, me perhaps?

"Grab a stool and take a seat."

I looked at him and then glanced at Lacus—she gave me an apologetic look for whatever was about to come. I narrowed my eyes. What the hell was she apologizing for?

"Cagalli, are you having sex?"

My cheeks turned a bright red. "_What_?" Talk about being _blunt_!

He looked every bit as uncomfortable as I felt. God, holy friggin hell. No way. Was he…He was giving me the _sex talk_?

Lacus placed a hand over Kira's. "Kira, maybe I should do this."

He looked up at her and exhaled. "Yeah, maybe you should. I'm not very good at this…"

Words couldn't explain the relief I felt when Lacus suggested what she just suggested. I would rather have the talk with her then with Kira. I shuddered just at the thought of it all.

He looked at me, his face pretty beet red. "Um, right, so, er….I'll leave you two alone."

As soon as he left, Lacus turned to look at me. She had a sheepish smile gracing her lips. "Sorry about the bluntness in Kira's approach to this…Topic."

I closed my eyes. Oh dear god. Kill me now.

"Now Cagalli, Kira's starting to get suspicious that you're starting to…Well…That you're being 'active' already. And needless to say, he's worried…."

I gulped.

"Alright, look, if you guys think I'm having…._Sex_," my mouth formed around the horrendous bringer of all time embarrassment. "I am _not_. Seriously! I. Am. Not. Having. Sex."

She looked at me, her baby blue eyes contemplative.

"Lacus, honestly, I'm not having sex! You'd be the first one that I would come up to and say: I'm having sex." Psh, yeah right. Even if I _was_ (which I am _not_) I wouldn't tell her, it's private. Hell, it's bloody _embarrassing_ beyond belief.

"Then why are you wearing a man's jacket?"

I flinched. What? I looked down at my clothing. Fuck. I was so wound up in my own embarrassment that I completely forgot that I still had Mr. Zala's jacket on. I bit the inside of my cheek as I racked my brain for a believable lie.

"Well Cagalli? I mean, that's the only reason why we asked you: because you came in with someone else's jacket other than your own."

I inhaled before I spoke. "Well, you see, my friend's brother lent it to me because I forgot my sweater at school in my locker."

Her lips were still set in a straight line.

"Really, remember when I wasn't home yet? Yeah, well, I was walking and I bumped into a friend from my Chemistry class. We started talking and she invited me to the diner not too far away from here. And well, I was so caught up in our conversation that I completely forgot that my sweater was still in my locker until we were already on the road."

I looked at her. Did she believe me?

She sighed as she looked at me; a smile was gracing her lips. "Alright, that's good to know."

Score on my behalf! "So…What are you going to tell Kira?"

She giggled. "He's so tensed up about you and Stellar, it's pretty cute. He's stressing out over nothing really. Maybe it's just because you two are at that age in which you'll have boyfriends and stuff."

I laughed along with her. "Probably, but, that's just so like him."

She nodded. "Mmm, true. Without it, it wouldn't really make him Kira now would it?"

"No, it wouldn't."

"I guess you can go now. You're free."

I grinned at her. I so loved her. She was like a role model or something; nah, more like a friend, very wise and always able to help me. "Thanks Lacus, I owe you lots."

"Sure, sure Cagalli. Now get going before Kira comes back into the kitchen to check up on our progress."

I nodded as I quickly made my way out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

An hour later I found myself in my room sprawled on my bed, my hair freshly wet (due to the shower). I looked up at the ceiling and thought of nothing in particular. That talk with Lacus was mortifying, but in the end, I guess it ended okay. Kira didn't question me about the jacket—probably because he was so into worrying that he overlooked. I only hoped Stellar wouldn't make a big deal out of it tomorrow.

And then my mind came to Yuna, that fucking shameless piece of crap.

Odd, I thought that what happened with Yuna would seem much more significant right now. But it doesn't. It just feels like so long ago, like it happened years ago. All I felt at this instant was complete and utter ease. I felt mellow. I felt calm. I felt sure. And the only rational explanation I could come up with was the kiss with Mr. Zala.

I was sure that I liked him now more than ever. I was calm because he eased my pain and fear. I was mellow because I was still half dazed out from the kiss. Yes, I liked him, and call it delusional or not, but I get the feeling he might like me too. Would that explain the apologetic look in his eyes? That perhaps the apology wasn't meant for me but for him? For him because he couldn't give in to his desires because he was my teacher and I was his student?

Hmm, that had to be it. But who would tell? I sure as hell wouldn't. And I know for a damn well fact that he wouldn't either. I laughed at myself. Look at me, suggesting a student-teacher affair. Was I really that reckless?

I sighed as I rolled over to my side and closed my eyes, my hand resting on my lips. He was like an anesthetic; he made everything negative go away.

But, just how long would it last?

* * *

**Okay, okay; another filler I know. Hehehehehe. But on the next chapter is when it really starts to kick in. I would've written it in here, but for the sake of your eyeballs and pretty much entertainment, I decided not too (also, it being one in the morning also tends to factor in). So I promise to have the next chapter up ASAP. **

**And note that the replies to reviews idea, yeah, I just followed the example from another author (doesn't have an account here). So know that it's not my idea at all. I'm just following it. **

**Replies to Reviews:**

**CagalliRules: ****Lol. Yeah, I didn't think of it either, but then it popped into my head to make Shinn kiss Cagalli and tell her how he felt.**

**Shiloah18: ****Um, I kinda like green peas (but only if they're mixed with corn!). Lol. Yes, Miriallia is very audacious in my story. Cagalli hugging Auel reminded you of GS? Hmm, well now that I look at it….Yeah. lol. Well, Stellar called him and told him that Cagalli wasn't at home yet. Lol. Nice. Um, well he **_**thinks**_** he's in love with her, but he's really not. Oh, trust me, in the next chapter (or two) somebody will castrate Yuna's ass. Well, Milly does have Tolle…For now. And I hope I answered your questions about Cagalli's appearance with this chapter, and what Athrun did, and why she ran to him first. Lol. And I'm glad you liked Auel in the previous chapter.**

**Sundowners: ****Yes, Cagalli has to have too many complications. But she'll pull through. **

**The Ravaja of Dejeneration: ****I know, I've got some insanely wicked situations for Cags, but she'll pull through. Bit by bit with the help of people of course. Glad you liked the chapter!**

**AsuCagafan: ****Well, technically, Shinn's not in love per se…But you'll see.**

**Sweetsimplcity: ****Thanks! It's fun writing the story lol. So I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

**Hades.Throne.Heiress: ****Happy 2008 now. I know, it was kind of disturbing about Cags almost being raped by Yuna, but it had to happen. And don't worry; he'll get his nice big chunk of karma soon. **

**Cara410: ****Thank you! I'm glad you like the fic.**

**ACysDMkl: ****Lol, yes, I probably would've made Athrun kick their asses if **_**only**_** he wasn't an adult ( nice name by the way! GS couples…Nice). **

**Sasorin101: ****I know huh? Cags got her share of boys. Yes, Yuna should die. I'm so good at making people hate him lol. And you know, you kinda gave me an idea for what I have planned for him. Thanks!**

**grEeNtEnshi911: ****I hope this chapter quenched your thirst of AsuCaga moments lol. **

**Evilace: ****Hmm, good question. Well, they weren't people or cars there because you know how in some neighborhoods it's like really quiet to the point that you think it's not occupied by any living humans? Yeah, well her school is located around a neighborhood like that, so that's why there were hardly any people or cars.**

**athrunXcagalli4evr: ****Hahahaha. Yeah, if I **_**did**_** let the rape happen, then I'm sure people would've been rioting against me for it. Oh, what gave you the hint that Yuna would attempt to get at Cagalli? Well, on the Shinn and Cagalli issue….Um…I'm not sure they're going to go out. But I don't know. I'm fickle so I could change my mind while typing.**

**Midnight blue08: ****Yes'm, Shinn and Stellar is completely permanent. Nothing can make me not put them together. Hmm, I think I'll have something better for Yuna, like make him lose something he'll surely miss. That would be wickedly cruel. And thank you for the compliment about Shinn/Cags kiss.**

**Cagalliyulaattha4ever: ****Hahahaha. Not too many people seem to be a big fan of him: which is awesome because it means I'm good at making people hate certain characters! You're playing Kingdom Hearts too?! Oh what part are you on? I'm not a very big fan of Riku, I like Sora! Tee hee! **

**Cagalliyulathha****: Lol, yeah, I wrote this with writer's block. Shame on me I know (but at least it turned out awesome!). Yeah, it kinda is weird cause you don't know what you're writing half the way. Haha! A lot of people want Shinn/Cagalli to go out. But yeah, it's all hardcore Ath/Caga. **

**And that's pretty much it for now. I would've written more, but tomorrow I have school, ugh. So I'll post the next chapter by this upcoming weekend. **


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